La Malfoi Inconnue
by draco-severus-mmm
Summary: The Unknown Malfoy. Hermione discovers on her 21st birthday that the missing piece of her life puzzle is not what she expected it to be. T13 for some swearing and sexual references.
1. 12th January, 1980

**Hey people! This is your friendly disclaimer... Just letting you know that I'm playing in the world of JK Rowling and that I did not come up with the characters. Well, I own John Westwood (a lovely English chap that you will meet in later chapters but who does not feature prominantly) as well as the personality of Robert Granger. I can't even really say that the plot is mine. I adopted a plot bunny that was known as _Hermione Malfoy_ from LondonsLegend (I'm pretty sure I got that right, just know that it wasn't my plot to begin with) although the way that the story unfolds is completely mine, MINE I tell you:-)**

Well, I know that I said that this story is Hermione and Draco, but I probably should make it Hermione and Narcissa. I'm still not entirely sure where this story will take me, but the idea from LondonsLegend was that perhaps this would end up being a DHr fic. We shall see. I just thought that I should prewarn you all so that you aren't looking for DHr romance within the first two chapters. That isn't going to happen. But if you do want a Draco/Hermione quick fix with some romance involved (stay tuned for later chappies), then read my other story entitled _Summer With The Grangers_. Chapter 13 is up.

I hope that you stay with this story though because I like the original concept of Hermione finding out ... whatever she finds out ;-) . Lemme know how it goes and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them.

* * *

**_12th January, 1980_**

Narcissa and Bellatrix exited the Muggle theatre in a complete state of contentedness. Surprising really, since they both usually despised anything Muggle. However, due to the slowly declining number of wizarding actors, there was little choice but to watch Muggle productions.

They had just watched the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of Twelfth Night and were relishing in the aftermath of the performance.

"I always felt bad for Andrew," Bellatrix announced dramatically. "He should have known that Olivia would never accept a proposal from someone like him."

"I know," Narcissa agreed, "but Sir Toby really ought to have cared a lot more than he did. Maria could have kept him in line, as well."

This discussion carried on for some minutes more when both of them were drawn to the presence of a particular male waiting for the bus. He was obviously a Muggle, judging by the type of clothes that he wore. He was tall with a broad build that suggested he was someone who exercised regularly. The two teenage girls moved a little in his direction. The man turned towards the left of the road, obviously in the direction that the bus was going to come from. As he did so, his longish wavy brown hair caught the breeze and it blew clear of his face, revealing a chiselled jawline and good looks. He was obviously someone who would get the ladies at the drop of a hat.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to know what it would be like to bed a Muggle!" Narcissa whispered frantically.

"Narcissa Black, you cannot tell me that you are considering approaching him!" reproved Bellatrix.

"Why not? I'm betrothed to Lucius no matter what I do or say in the matter. There is no doubt in my mind that he has gone against his parents' wishes of being faithful for our wedding night. No, I'm going to go up to him. Cover for me, can you?"

Narcissa knew how faithful Bella was and that she would not disclose anything about the male Muggle to the rest of her family. That was why she knew she could get away with what she was about to do.

Bella sighed in resignation. "Okay, I'll come up with something. But you have to tell me all about it when you get back. Although I can only imagine it will be utter filth!"

"Oh Bella! Why don't you have a go, too?"

"Because I have no desire to ruin myself for Rodolphus. I don't need anyone else anyway because I already know what Rodolphus is like and let me tell you, he certainly knows what he's doing!"

Narcissa let out a shudder. She really did not want to know about such things despite Bella's insistence that she did.

"Look, the bus is nearly here. It's now or never okay? I'll meet you back home."

"Alright. Good luck," Bella finished sarcastically, shaking her head as Narcissa made her way over to the tall male in question.

Narcissa wondered what on earth drove her to actually realise one of her fantasies. Now that she was approaching the beau garçon, she was starting to have second thoughts.

_Come on_, she thought to herself. _You have to do this. Bella won't expect anything less._

She sighed inwardly and continued to walk towards the Muggle. He turned towards her as she drew up close beside him.

Giving him her sweetest expression, she asked, "Excuse me, Sir, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to Liverpool."

Her smiled at her and replied, "Were you not in the theatre just a moment ago?"

_How did he know that? I don't remember seeing him._

"Yes, I was but what's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm just suggesting that perhaps you came from your home tonight to watch the spectacle, hence you should know how to return."

Confused, Narcissa looked at the man. "I don't know what you mean."

"What I mean is; if that were the case, you should already know how to get to Liverpool."

_He just got the better of me! Fancy that, a Muggle outsmarting a Witch! Alright I may as well be frank with him if he's so clever._

She sighed resignedly. "Alright, you caught me out. It was merely an excuse to come and talk to you."

He laughed, flashing his pearly whites at her. "I must say, it's not the most original way of approaching someone but nonetheless it worked. My name is Robert Granger."

"I'm Narcissa. Narcissa Black."

The man whom she now knew as Robert looked at her in wonder. "Narcissa? That's certainly a unique name. It's very similar to the name Narcissus or Nausicaa. That is, if you are familiar with Greek mythology."

This little fact stunned Narcissa. She only knew a little bit about Greek mythology but enough to know where her name originated. Not that she cared to go into the former name that Robert mentioned. The thing that surprised her mostly was the fact that this particular Muggle was obviously quite learned in the topic of myths and legends, even though from first impression he did not appear to. What's more, the fact that Robert didn't mention the legend behind the name made Narcissa develop a (albeit very small since he was a Muggle) respect for him.

"Yes," she responded. "That I am. All of my family are named after someone from Greek or Roman mythology. My parents are somewhat of traditionalists."

"How extraordinary. I've always wondered what it would be like to name one of my children after a Greek God or Goddess. Nothing too obscure of course but something a little different. You see, judging by my name, I've come from a long line of British traditionalists as well. You cannot really get a more British-sounding name than my own, which was why I thought it was time for a change. After all, it is nearly the end of the second millennium."

The conversation carried on from there. Soon they were comparing great literal figures such as Shakespeare and Marlowe as well as Shelley, Byron and 'Bram Stoker.

_So much for a quick fix. Who would have thought that my night could have been more educational?_

Both Narcissa and Robert were quite enjoying the conversation when the bus finally pulled up.

"Oh," said Robert. "That's my bus back to Cambridge."

"That's a shame," responded Narcissa. "I was really starting to enjoy myself, too."

There was an awkward pause where neither said anything. All the people waiting for the bus were now seated on it except for Robert. He looked at it and turned back to Narcissa then back to the bus.

"Oi Mate," the bus driver announced in an East London accent. "You getting on or what?"

Robert Looked back to Narcissa. "You know what? Did you want to go out for a coffee instead?"

Narcissa was delighted. "Yes, of course, that would be lovely."

"You don't need to worry about me," he told the bus driver. "I won't be catching this bus home."

"Suit yourself," the bus driver responded in an 'I know better than to ask' sort of way then drove off.

"Well, where to, Narcissa?" Robert asked.

"I think I know of a small place where we can go. My sister and I sometimes go there after a recital."

"Right, you lead the way then."

After a couple of minutes walking and talking, the two of them settled into a small café located at the end of the street.

"I love this place," Narcissa told Robert, quite forgetting why she had approached him in the first place. "It's the only place open on a Friday night around here."

"That's funny," Robert he responded. "I don't remember ever seeing it. Of course, I'm not usually down this way so perhaps that's why."

Narcissa kept quiet about this statement. She knew why he could not normally see it but she was not about to divulge her greatest secret.

Instead she said, "Really? Well, maybe you just weren't looking as you drove past. It isn't a very large place, as you can see. However, they make a very nice coffee and cappuccino."

The cappuccinos arrived after a couple of minutes, not that either Narcissa or Robert noticed until a few minutes afterwards. The time was passing so quickly for both of them that neither could remember the last time they had enjoyed someone else's company so much. It seemed ridiculous not to try and make the most out of it. From Narcissa's point of view, she knew it would be next to impossible to encounter Robert again due to her duties as an aristocratic pureblood in the Wizarding World. As much as she didn't really want to admit it, she was starting to feel something for this man in front of her that she knew she didn't feel for Lucius. Unfortunately there was no way to break the betrothal. It was going to happen; it was just a matter of time when.

After another hour, Robert finally said the words that Narcissa was waiting to hear.

"Would you like to come back to my place after we finish here?"

The words were said not forthcoming but rather in the same way as a shy teenage boy would ask a girl out for their first date. This touched Narcissa yet she was not very sure why. It was perhaps because Robert was so sure of himself before she approached and even while she was talking to him but when it came to the final crunch, it showed that he was human.

She smiled graciously at him and replied, "Of course."

Being only of 17 years of age, she really was not sure whether this was a good idea but she had already come so far that backing out was not an option. Not only that but she knew a lot of the boys/young men at Hogwarts and they were much less of gentlemen than this man in front of her. Despite the fact that he would have been no less than 4 years older than her (age was something that neither one of them had brought up), she felt that he would not treat her as a possession, but rather a person.

They walked arm in arm back to his smallish flat where she could see that he did not possess much in the way of money. He had told her that he was studying and hence didn't have a lot of money in one of the conversations during their coffees but it became apparent that he was not lying in the matter at all. His flat was furnished with the barest of furniture and not many other luxuries.

_What a shame, he seems like he really should be wealthy._

Robert caught sight of Narcissa's face and gave a small laugh. "Ah, there may not be much here at the moment but as I said in the café, I'm still studying. My parents stopped supporting me when I moved out to go to Cambridge. After I finish, money won't be something I'll need to worry about."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"I told you I want to become a dentist. Nowadays, that pays big money. Up around fifty thousand quid for a graduate. And it only increases with time."

Narcissa was not sure whether this amounted to much in the Wizarding World but she could see that he looked very resolved in the matter and decided to play along.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's alright, you don't have to pretend. I still have two years to go, yet it doesn't seem to bother me. I still have my football, my schooling and my books of course. I'm quite content, even though I don't have much to look at."

This was almost too much for Narcissa. Having grown up with all the wealth one could muster in the Wizarding World, she could not fathom how one could maintain such a dignified air about them with so little possessions. Yet here was someone, quite educated, who could do just that. It made her a little guilty for complaining when the house-elves overcooked her meals or didn't wash her dresses properly. These things seemed almost irrelevant after seeing Robert maintaining his happy lifestyle despite being a poor university student.

Without warning, she walked over to him slowly and noiselessly. As he was about to ask her what she was doing, she reached up and kissed him softly on the lips. Pulling away from him, Narcissa wondered what on earth made her do that. It seemed Robert was wondering the same thing. He only looked at her in slight shock, obviously overwhelmed for the forthright move on her part.

Just as she was about to apologise for her actions, Robert reached for her and took her up in his arms, kissing her passionately. Narcissa responded after a couple of seconds, deepening the kiss by moving her hands behind his head.

After they broke apart to take a breath, Robert gently took her hand and led her into the bedroom.

* * *

**Comments:**

Narcissus and Nausicaa - Greek Mythology (as mentioned). Narcissus died from gazing at his own reflection (he fell in love with it). Nausicaa was the beautiful young daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete. She was innocent and virtuous until in her youth, she became attracted to a naked Odysseus when they first met (If he was good looking, I don't blame her…!)

The reason that Robert hasn't seen this place is of course because he is a Muggle and this is a wizarding establishment. So why can he see it with Narcissa? Because she led him to it and hence he was able to see it. He isn't commenting on the dress of this place because it's located in the middle of Muggle London, so the Wizarding population that are frequenting it are dressed as Muggles to fit in.


	2. 13th January, 1980

Wow! I had hoped that this little piece would be warmly received and it seems it has. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! This is the reason why I write, well that and that I enjoy writing. But I like the fact that people are enjoying what I write. It just means so much, so thanks again.

**In response to questions and comments:**

**Macey Muse:** Lol! Yeah, I do have a bit of a fixation with French, don't I? That and German as well. What Draco says in _Summer With The Grangers_ rings true of me - I studied it all through High School but had 2 years off and only just got into it again last year. I really struggle to speak it but can understand presque tout que j'entends... ;-)

**Cate:** Ooh, I thought I got the date right, unfortunately I misread the Lexicon. I did in fact consult it about the real date of Hermione's birthday but assumed that because Harry was born in '80, I assumed Hermione was as well. Then for some unknown reason I didn't read the Lexicon properly. When I get up to the main storyline, I will change the dates. For now, I just wanted to get the main prologue up and running. But thanks for pointing it out... :-)

**Little Black Poko-chan:** Re: the first thing that you wrote, you will just have to find out! The second, a plot bunny just means a plot that someone may have that they wish for someone to adopt because they are unable to think up a storyline for. Hence it got its little nickname because they are usually described as being kind of cute and fluffy and that need to be adopted. Well, that was my understanding anyway.

**LondonsLegend:** Well, I haven't quite shortened it but I did break it up. You're the lucky one (aside from my flatmate) who has read the original up until the main storyline. I have also sent you the first chapter of the main plot as well... Lemme know how you think it is but don't fee that you have to rush to get it back.

* * *

**_13th January, 1980_**

Early next morning, Narcissa woke up completely disoriented. She was lying in a double bed, naked and lying next to a just as naked male sleeping peacefully beside her. She suddenly realised where she was and who she was lying next to. The previous night's events came flooding back to her; everything from hers and Bella's little discussion before this whole thing, as well as the 'whole thing' that had now given her something to think about other than what to do after Hogwarts.

She had put herself into a completely horrible situation for a pureblood witch. On the one hand, she was betrothed to a young man who would no doubt be able to keep her for many lifetimes, but would he ever love her? On the other was a man who seemed perfect in every way except for two major flaws; he was a Muggle – scorned upon by those of her pedigree in her world, the other being that he was not very rich. Despite his assurances that he would be quite wealthy upon graduating from university, that was still two years away. Although this flaw did not bother her as much as the former.

The only way that she could see fit to get around this was to run away from the Wizarding World. Not impossible but so close to it that it really wasn't worth it. It looked like her choice had been made.

Looking around quickly, she scouted out her clothes and ran into the bathroom to get changed.

_Why did this have to happen now?_ She wondered. _What happened to it being a quick night?_

She felt horrible for Robert, knowing that after leaving his flat, it would appear that she had led him on completely but that was not true by any means. It was just that he would never understand how complicated her life was and why she had to go. Oh how she wanted it to be different! This would never happen of course, she being who she was and him being who he was.

Narcissa wandered back into the bedroom to see that Robert was still sleeping. She smiled to herself.

_It's of little wonder. He really did put up quite a good performance last night._

Sighing to herself, she removed herself from the room with one last lingering look at the sleeping form in front of her.

It felt wrong to simply leave. It was not what she had been brought up with. Etiquette formed a great part of her life and it would not fail her now.

She found a lined sheet of paper in an exercise book and a pen and wrote a leaving note. Looking over it no less than 5 times, she left the note in clear view on the kitchen table along with a pen resting on it.

Inspecting the little flat once more in a form of goodbye, Narcissa turned to the door and left the Muggle World – along with a life full of love and freedom – for (what she thought would be) ever.

* * *

** Comments:**

There doesn't seem to be any explanations required here but I do apologise for it being so short. I was going to put it in as a part of the previous chapter and then wondered whether to put it in as the next chapter but decided against it. There is a bit of a cliffy at the end of this and I think it kind of needed to be uploaded on its own rather than with the next chapter. So you'll just havta wait till tomorrow when I think I should be able to upload.

However, I don't have a great deal written at the moment so will encounter so you may have to wait a bit b/w uploadings. I hope that you can all be relatively patient with this because as I think I said before, it's an interesting plot and I really wanna have a go at it to see if I can pull it off.

See y'all!


	3. 21st February, 1980, 8:21pm

Hey to all! I'm glad it seems that this story has had a good response. I'm loving it! Which is why I decided to add this little bit in now. I really like this part because I believe that it reflects a true life scenario - at least to me it does. I'm actually really liking how this story is unfolding, even though I've only really written the prologue and the first chapter of the main storyline. I think it's because it's much different to my other fic. At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to write two DHr fics at the same time, but since they aren't really similar at all, it's worked out okay.

**Anyway, on to comments:**

**EosRaven:** I meant to respond to this sooner and didn't get to, sorry 'bout that. Thanks so much for your comments. I've noticed that you liked my other fic so I'm only too happy to see that you've taken to this one as well.

**Mother Zephyr: **I have addressed your first comment later on in the story (first chapter of main part) although I see where you are coming from. Once again, seeing as this wasn't my story to begin with, I thought it was only fair to base the title on the story that it is based on anyway. I do agree with you about that, although I hope it still makes sense. In regards to your second comment, good pick up! I hadn't even considered that they would be half-siblings so I will definitely make sure that there is no romance involved b/w the two... :-) To be truthful, it would have been hard to write in anyway I think.

**Little Black Poko-chan:** This chapter should address what you wrote... as I said before, this is my favourite chapter so far.

To everyone else who reviewed: Thank you! I hope you continue to keep reading, even though later on I may struggle to update this as often as I am now. Well, that's almost a certainty but anyway.

Here is Prologue Part 3.

**_

* * *

21st February, 1980  
8:21pm_**

Robert sat in his flat one cold night and looked at the door for what seemed like the hundredth time. The last month had passed extraordinarily slowly for him; ever since Narcissa had left his flat in such a rush, it seemed as if she never really existed at all. The only evidence that was left was a note written in elegant Copperplate on a piece of paper from one of his exercise books.

He had read the letter so much that he didn't need to look at it to know what it said:

_Robert,_

_I cannot tell you how sorry I am for leaving you without a proper 'goodbye'. I wish it didn't have to be like this but unfortunately it cannot. I also wish I could explain it but it's far too complicated for you, no matter how smart I know you are._

_I just want you to know that I did not think of this as a one-night-stand, as I believe the term to be, but as something that meant so much more. I have never felt that way about anyone before in my life. That may not be saying a lot considering I am only young but I can honestly say that you are like no other man I have ever been with. You are intelligent, caring and humble – in a good way; qualities that most young women would love their partners to possess. I see too many young men flaunting about their gifts as if no one else is worthy for not sharing the same talents. It is quite refreshing to see that there are men out there who are nothing like that._

_You don't know how much I wish things were different. However they are not and so I must leave you this morning. I only hope that I run into you again some time in the (hopefully) not too distant future._

_À la prochaine mon chéri…_

_Narcissa._

It hurt his heart to think about her. He wasn't sure whether to take the letter at face value or not. He could have sworn that she felt the same way as him. However, after leaving so abruptly that morning over four weeks ago, he was not sure whether it was simply a formality that she wrote the letter or not.

The trouble with love; _hmph_, he thought, _it could a famous title for a book or a movie._

His only outlet from the hell-hole that his life had seemed to have fallen into was his studies, having made the decision years ago that dentistry was what he wanted to do in the future. Ironic as that was, he found that whilst he was at university, he could shut his mind off all things that did not concern his field of study to concentrate solely on what was in front of him. It was only when he returned to his flat – 'the scene of the crime', so to speak – that he found he could not think about anything or anyone else but Narcissa.

Even his uni friends had noticed Robert's change in character. Even though they usually only saw him during the day, having their own work to do, they picked up on the fact that he was not his usual carefree self.

His football also suffered. The coach of the university team told him that he wasn't playing as good as previous weeks and asked why. Robert couldn't bring himself to say the truth because to say 'a one night stand' would come across as extremely juvenile. Instead, he merely said that his workload had increased somewhat and that it was hard to keep up with that and football training for the coming weeks.

This did not fool the coach – a learned man in the field of love who could tell when his players were suffering from the opposite sex, yet he could not force them to open up if they did not want to. Something that Robert was not prepared to do, not at the moment.

Flicking through the channels of the old television with no comprehension of what was on, Robert wondered lazily what subjects he had the next day when he heard a knock at the door.

Startled, he got up and grudgingly walked over to see who it was.

Upon opening the door, he started as his best friend from football stood in front of him, soaking wet from being out in the rain.

"John, what are you doing here?" he asked questioningly.

John looked at him in concern. "Look Mate. You're not yourself. You haven't been for the last four weeks. I know something's killing you. You mind if I come in?"

"I guess but I'm not really into talking right now."

"You're like that at training so what difference would it make here?"

Robert grunted. John always had a knack for getting the upper hand in a discussion. Robert slowly moved aside to let him in. John moved straight for the couch, knowing that that was where Robert had sat for the last four weeks and that stealing it would annoy him to no end. His theory was correct; Robert glared at him and resigned to sit on his desk chair.

John pressed on. "Who is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's a female, I know."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because you wouldn't be half this upset if it was study or football or anything else for that matter. So, who is it?"

Robert really didn't feel like talking but John wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

"No one you know."

John raised one eyebrow. "Well, that's good. That means that I won't have to ignore them whenever I see them." At this Robert merely snorted. "What?" John asked.

"That's the thing. I'll never see her again. I know it," replied Robert in agitation.

"Well at least we got you talking. What do you mean, you know you won't see her again? Why is that?"

Robert got up from the chair and walked over to the kitchen table. He picked up the note, looked at it very briefly then walked back over to John.

"Here!" he shouted, shoving the note under John's nose. "I think this will give you all the answers you're looking for!"

"Settle down, Mate, I only asked." Nevertheless, John started to read the note.

Robert waited while his friend read over it, watching his every reaction to the things that were written.

"Robert," John said quietly. "I had no idea."

"Obviously not. Have _you_ ever been on the receiving end of a one-night-stand?"

"I know I've had a couple of them, but I'm pretty sure that those times they would have felt as crap as me in the morning. So no, nothing like this."

"Then you really don't have any clue as to what I'm going through, do you?"

John sat up from the couch in frustration. "Oh for God's sake, Rob! Get a hold of yourself! You sound like you're the only person to go through a bad fucking break up! It's not even like there was a relationship to begin with!"

Robert stood up face to face with him. "DON'T you _dare_ say that! You don't even know what it was like!"

"I'll fucking say what I want to! Okay, it may have meant something to you but you gotta realise, at some point you just have to move on with your life. Shit happens! Fuck man, it's happened to me before. Happened in second year uni." Robert raised his eyebrows. "Got you there, didn't I?" John said triumphantly. "Yeah, you didn't know that breaking up with Cara was as bad as this, did you?" Robert shook his head. "Told you. Man, I thought she was the best thing to happen to me. Thought she was the one, you know? That is, until she went to America for two months. I had no concerns because we'd been together for three years. Stupid me, really. Who would've known that she'd hook up with one of _them_? Told me that she didn't think it felt right. I knew the truth, couldn't have felt like that had she not met someone. I eventually got it out of her sister that that was the case. Kind of put a finalisation to it. Meant that I had to get on with my life because she wasn't coming back. Shat me to tears. Enough that I nearly quit uni because of it. Then I thought, nah, there's gotta be more to this than fucking women. So I came out of my hole and moved on."

Robert was shocked at his friend's revelation. "Why didn't you say something about it then?"

John scoffed. "Who wants to listen to someone else's problems? Everyone thinks that their problems are the worst. Well I've got news; they're not. And neither are yours, Rob. Sooner or later you're gonna havta deal with your demons before they start to really ruin you."

As much as it pained him to think it, Robert knew that John was right. The bloody psychology student could always find some way to piss him off. However he still didn't really feel like dealing with it.

He sat back down on his chair. "So you came here to preach your views to me?" he asked.

"No Mate, I've come here to try to get you to see reason before it starts to really get to you. That's not preaching; that's a mate looking out for another one."

"Look John, I know you mean well but really, I just don't really feel like dealing with it. Not at the moment, anyway. Don't worry; I'll deal with it when I'm ready to. At the moment I just don't think I can."

John walked to Robert and clapped him on the back. "I hope it's soon. I don't want to have to deal with you if you get any worse than this, that's all." John stood up to go. "I better leave you to it then, seeing as you probably don't want anyone here. At least you didn't before, anyway."

"Wait a sec, John," Robert said. "If you don't mind sharing a beer, you want to watch the game? It's not quite started yet."

John gave a wry smile. "Sure, where are they? I'll go get us a couple."

"On the bottom shelf of the fridge. I think I might have to stock up soon, though."

"Next time I'm over, I'll bring some. I think I owe you, anyway."

Throughout the football match, John told him the latest stories about his psych lecturer. He always had good stories about his psych lecturer, in fact. The guy was quite weird and John could put a hilarious spin on anything that the man said. Watching the football match as well as sharing a drink with his friend, Robert thought that it almost felt like old times – times before the thing with _her_. He didn't realise how much he missed this interaction with people. Maybe there was light at the end of the tunnel after all.

About an hour later, there was another knock on the door.

John looked at Robert. "You expecting any more visitors?" he asked.

"You didn't put the rest of the blokes onto me if you couldn't succeed now, did you?" Robert joked.

"No Mate, not this time," he smiled.

Robert went to the door to see who it was.

He could not have been more shocked if it was the Devil himself.

Standing outside his door, obviously quite cold from the rain, was _her_. The one who had haunted him for the last four weeks. The one who had rendered him a wreck until John showed up to help. The one who he was sure he had fallen in love with. _Narcissa Black._

He could not speak; he could only stand there, mouth gaping and eyes fixed on her tear-stained yet beautiful face.

"Robert," she sobbed. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

** Comments:**

Ooh, you have to be cruel to be kind. I really love this chapter as I said above and I love the ending. My other story doesn't really have any cliffhangers so this was a pleasant change.

Thanks to everyone, I hope to get the last prologue part up soon. See ya!


	4. 21st February, 1980, 10:13pm

Hey peeps, this will probably be my last post for a bit cos I still need to write the bloody thing:-) As I've said, I have the first chapter of the main part up, only I would like to have a bit more up written before I post more. So why did I post this story in teh first place? Well, to see how people would respond to it, I guess. Also cos it's exciting posting chapters. So, without much further ado, I can't really think of anything else to write except thank you to everyone who reviewed!

**Now, comments:**

** Little Black Poko-chan: **Well, I guess you could say that it is an extended prologue... ;-) When I first started writing it, it was intended that it was only going to be a few pages of typing (Word) long, only I soon found that to set the story straight, it was gonna havta be longer than that! But I'm glad it still sounds alright...

**Macey Muse:** That's cool that you do German as well - ich spreche nur ein bischen Deutsch und kann auch nur ein bischen verstehen. Aber ich studiere Deutsch an der Uni seit ein Jahr. Anyway! It's awesome to know that the story sounds fairly real life - I think I'm gonna like writing John's character. The cool unclefigure (only he isn't an uncle... woops, I've let loose a bit much info!) with all the right answers. Or rather, someone to keep Robert on the straight and narrow, seeing as he _is_ a psychologist, and a damn good one at that!

**xoxoluvme4evrxoxo:** I mentioned in an earlier chapter that it won't be a DHr romance fic for incestral (is that a word?) reasons. I had it pointed out a couple of chapters ago that it would be quite wrong for it to happen and I'm not the sort to make them decide that despite blood ties, they want to be together. It's a little sickening. Even though I keep saying it will probably eventually be a DHr fic, I don't mean it in the romantic sense. I mean it in the sense that the story will eventually be about how both of them cope with being the other's sibling.

On to the last part of the prologue...

* * *

**_21st February, 1980_**  
_**10:13pm**_

"What?" Robert replied in absolute shock.

"I'm pregnant. I'm pregnant!" Narcissa repeated more forcefully.

Robert thought back to that wondrous night. How much that night meant to him! He could remember every detail; what she was wearing, how she smelt, how good it felt with her… and how he didn't have protection, assuming that she was on the Pill.

_Oh God, why now?_

He raised his hands and placed them behind his head, all the while muttering "I did not need this, not now! Shit, I didn't need this!"

Narcissa was still standing outside the doorway. John's voice was heard from behind Robert.

"Hey Mate, I think I better go. I'll see you at training Tuesday, hey?"

Robert turned to him, mouthing, 'don't go!' and shaking his head. John only shrugged his shoulders and headed towards him.

"I think you better let her in, she looks like she's freezing out there," he added.

Robert sighed. "Right Mate. See you Tuesday." He moved aside so John could leave. "Narcissa," he addressed her. "John's right. You need to come in before you freeze to death out there."

She didn't look at him but merely muttered a small "Thank you."

She took off her woollen coat and sat down on the couch, continuing to avoid his stare.

"Did you want anything to drink?" he asked her, trying to keep himself busy to avoid something horrible.

"I would like a glass of water, if you don't mind. I've come a long way tonight but I thought it was necessary."

Robert gave a small snort. _So it seems._

He returned with the glass, which she accepted graciously, and he returned to the desk chair. She took a large mouthful then lowered the glass. After another minute, she finally looked up at him.

"Robert," she said softly, "I don't know what else to say except that I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked sarcastically. "For running off like you did without so much as a goodbye? For making me think that you do this to everyone you encounter on the street? Or for making my life an absolute nightmare these last few weeks? Which was it?"

Narcissa looked down again. "For everything."

"You came all the way here to say that 'sorry and oh yeah by the way, I'm pregnant'?"

"Yes."

He knew this was hard for her. He had to admire her courage at coming this late at night and telling him this. Especially someone of her age. He knew that she wasn't as old as him and given that he was not yet 22, it meant that she must be only about 17 or more. This fact didn't sit well with him at all considering it was easily his fault as it was hers for failing to use protection.

Contrary to these thoughts, it still hurt him so much to have to sit here talking to the one person who had made these last few weeks extraordinarily hard to bear. He wished it himself that things were different but what she'd done was very difficult to take.

"You don't know how much I wanted to stay," Narcissa continued softly.

"Then why didn't you?" he asked bitterly.

"Because it wouldn't have been right. As I said in the note, there is no chance that you could possibly understand what position I'm in. Everything that I wrote was true; I didn't make it up nor do I say that kind of thing to every male I encounter on the street. I can't believe that you even thought that!"

"What was I meant to think? You slept with me after meeting me that night then took off without saying anything except leaving a quick note! Can you see it from my perspective?"

She was sobbing again. "Yes! Don't you think I contemplated that? As I keep saying, I wished I could have stayed but I couldn't. I am not the sort to lie; there was very good reason why I didn't stay."

"Why can't you just tell me the reason?"

"Because you could _never_ understand!" she yelled, looking at him with disdain and anger. "Besides, you would turn against me very, very quickly. I know this because I have seen it happen before!"

It was all too much for Robert. He had told her much of his life story and he had thought that she'd done the same except there was something missing from each of the stories. He desperately wanted to know but he could see that she was not wanting to or not daring to, whichever it was.

He sighed and leant his arms on his knees. He would have to try a different approach. "Well, could you at least tell me what you plan on doing with your, I mean, our baby?"

His caused Narcissa to burst out crying once more. Once she composed herself, she said, "I wanted to talk to you about that. I thought you had a right to decide as well."

This made Robert's heart melt. It was not everyday that a woman gave consideration into the thoughts of a man in regards to child rights.

It was apparent that she did indeed care about him after coming to him to tell him that she was pregnant. Furthermore, since she'd acknowledged that he had a right to decide what was to be done about the baby. She also seemed quite persistent with her view that she wanted to stay with him, only some unknown reason prevented her from doing so. It gave Robert a sense that perhaps he had not given her a fair go and resolved to try to find an acceptable outcome.

He softened his voice. "Whatever you decide, I will be happy with. I am equally to blame in all this. I know you are young and still have a future in front of you but I will be there to support you in any decision that you make."

She looked up at him and whispered, "Thank you."

They were silent for a couple of minutes where the only noises were those of heavy breathing and sniffles. Finally, Robert broke the tension.

"Had you decided what you yourself wanted to do before you came here?"

Narcissa put her delicate hands up to her face and rubbed her eyes. "I knew what I wanted to do but that's where it gets complicated."

_Oh shit, not more, I don't know if I can stand this._

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"You see," she bravely fought back tears as she spoke, "I want to keep it. However, my family will not approve."

Robert could see if from their perspective; a young woman who still had a life ahead of her suddenly becoming pregnant to someone whom they had never met nor seen at a glance. As well as that, he was a poor uni student who, despite not having financial difficulties upon graduation, was still struggling at the present moment and who would not be able to support an unemployed mother.

"It certainly is understandable. Why is it that you want to keep it if it will cause so much trouble?"

Narcissa hesitated, looking nervously at her hands then at Robert, to the floor and back to Robert. "It would be a reminder of you."

This rendered Robert speechless. _Why would she want a reminder of me that badly?_

"What do you mean?"

"Here's where it gets complicated." She sighed and smiled at him sadly. "You see, I'm from a very well-off family and I'm already betrothed to another."

Robert sat bolt upright. "What?" he exclaimed. "You're betrothed? But that went out in the 1800's!"

"I don't know what you're talking about but I can assure you, I'm to be wed upon my 21st birthday."

"That's impossible!" Robert couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I don't know how it is; that is what's to happen. That doesn't solve the problem of the baby."

"What, so he would not accept you having a child before marriage?"

Narcissa laughed, a shrill nervous laugh. "Not a chance! If it was his own that might be different but since it isn't, he would more than likely want to kill it!"

Robert stood up in exasperation. "You can't let that happen! That's murder and he would be put away for it as well!"

"Not where I'm from!" Narcissa raised her voice to match his. "It is not uncommon for a man to treat his wife as a possession as opposed to a real human being!"

"But you're English! That sort of practice is unheard of here! Unless you were only educated here. Where are you from originally?" he demanded.

"I was born in London and grew up in Middlesex."

"Then I don't understand why you would be betrothed to another!"

She stood up and glared at him, trying desperately hard to make him see her point of view. "Because I'm not from the same world as you!"

_Excuse me? _"What world could you possibly be part of then, if you were born and bred in England?" he exclaimed, thoroughly confused by this statement.

"Blast it Robert, I'm a witch!"

Robert looked at her in utter perplexity, trying desperately hard to comprehend those three little words that she had just said.

"A witch?"

"Yes," she muttered resignedly. "A witch."

"But they don't exist in modern society! For all I believe, they didn't exist in ancient society either, only the Catholic church treated people as such to hide any inconsistencies with their own ideas."

Narcissa blinked in surprise. "You honestly think that?"

Robert looked back at her to see that she was quite serious. "Yes, I don't believe that they ever existed. The Catholic church was quite brutal with anyone who didn't follow –"

"No," she interrupted. "What I mean is; do you honestly believe that witches and wizards have never existed?"

"Yes, I do."

Narcissa sighed. "I'm afraid I will have to prove it to you, then. Can you stand up for me, please?"

"What?" he questioned worriedly.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, for God's sake! Come and stand beside me. Please, just trust me on this one."

Robert obeyed her and stood up and wandered over to the couch. He watched as she pulled out a thin stick from a pocket in her dress and pointed it to the desk chair. Muttering a few small words under her breath, she soon turned it into something that resembled a throne. He could only stare, mouth open in shock at the transformation that occurred in front of his very eyes. Narcissa turned to him, a small smile on her still tear-stained face but also appearing quite reserved.

"I told you," she said matter of factly. "I can change it back again, if you want."

Robert could not speak due to his surprise still controlling all other emotions. He watched as the chair twisted and writhed back into its original form and Narcissa put the wand back into her dress.

"But – but, h-how did you do that?" he stuttered.

"I told you, I'm a witch. I know this is incredibly hard for you to believe this, Robert," she was almost pleading at this stage, "but you will simply have to disregard all prior beliefs that you had." She paused, watching his reaction. "I cannot tell you how hard that was to tell you. Now do you see why I couldn't tell you that morning?"

He collapsed onto the couch. Having just watched the desk chair make its transformation, it made him feel a bit wary to go near it. He also knew that if what she was saying was true, and judging by that little performance it seemed she was, then he could see why she would be so anxious to let that piece of information known.

Finally, he thought, it was time to speak. "How many other people know about this?" he asked.

"Family and friends."

"So, how is it that you have concealed these talents?"

"As I told you before, I don't live in the same world as you. I mean, it's still England but it's far away from any other ordinary person."

"Okay, so I have never heard of this place before?"

"No non-wizarding person has. The worlds are completely separate. The only reason why I was in this part of London was because there is a decline in wizard actors so my sister and I have had to be content with other forms of theatre."

"So it was by chance that I saw you that night?"

"Yes, I believe so."

_Shit on it! I could have avoided this whole mess had I caught the earlier bus home!_

Narcissa jumped in since Robert was not going to answer. "If it's any consolation, I'm glad I met you that night, Robert. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't, nor would I be willing to keep a baby out of wedlock."

This brought Robert's thoughts back to the reason why it got to this point.

"So why are you betrothed? Surely your folk wouldn't all do this."

"Not all, but I am from a very wealthy and aristocratic family."

_Hmph, sounds like the Royal family except for the betrothal part._

"So you keep the bloodlines pure within the old families."

"Yes, how did you know that?" she looked at him in wonder.

"Because that practice is very much like the royal families of Europe. Although nowadays they have become more casual with whom they let into the family and who they don't."

"Oh." Narcissa fumbled with her hands then looked back to Robert. "This isn't the final thing that I wanted to tell you, or ask you for that matter."

Robert looked at her, wondering what on earth she could possibly add to this. "What is that?"

"Because I cannot keep the baby with my family, I wanted to know if you would keep it." Seeing Robert's face change to something resembling not very pleasant, she hurried on. "Please let me finish! I ask that you raise our child but you would not have to worry about anything concerning her keeping. I will finance everything for her since she is my responsibility too. I have already said what my family would do if they found out that this child was not my betrothed's, but I desperately want to keep it as a lasting memory of the one whom I think I fell in love with."

This revelation stumped Robert to no end. As it turned out, Narcissa had felt the same way about him as he did about her. It was of little wonder that she ran off like she did. Being betrothed to someone and falling in love with someone else could not be good anytime, let alone when you were pregnant as well. He only wished that things were different and that they could be together. However, fate had other ideas and would not let this happen. It was bound for her to marry another and for him to live his life elsewhere.

Except for the baby. He would always have a constant reminder of her. Was this what he wanted? Would he be better off not having anything to do with it? No, he could not let anything happen to his firstborn. And she did say that she would help out financially. He only wished that she could be there all the time to help him take care of it. That she couldn't and so he resolved that he would raise the child alone for her.

"Please say something," Narcissa pleaded softly.

He suddenly realised that he had been sitting there staring absentmindedly at nothing for the last few minutes. Knowing she needed an answer and knowing what the answer was, he told her his decision.

"I'll do it."

He could see her face literally melt before him. Her tear-streaked face lit up like a light and more tears started to run down her cheeks. She started sobbing uncontrollably and also collapsed onto the couch until Robert held her. They just sat like that for a while, her crying until there were no more tears to cry and him whispering soothing things to her as he held her tightly.

After some time, she broke away from him. "I cannot thank you enough for this," she said.

"No, I thank you for giving me something to love," he replied.

This almost caused her to start up again, however she maintained her composure and spoke again.

"Please don't worry about how you will manage this. I can tell that you will be a good father to our child, whether it is a boy or a girl. It will grow up clever and intelligent with a love for books!" she laughed, causing him to smile.

"That it will. In the meantime, how will you cover up your pregnancy?"

"I am going on holidays to France for a year starting in March. During that time, I'm sure I won't have to worry about dealing with a round belly."

"It's good you have thought this through. I will ensure that it has the best possible upbringing a child could have."

"I know it will."

They sat silent on the couch for some time as the clock on the wall struck midnight. Finally, Robert gently broke apart from Narcissa and realised that she had fallen asleep. Smiling to himself, he picked her up and took her into his bedroom, laying her down and pulling the covers up over her.

As he was about to leave to go and sleep on the couch, he heard her behind him saying, "Don't go. Please stay with me, Robert."

He turned back to the bed to see that Narcissa had sat up and was looking at him. He wandered across to the bed and got in on the other side. He felt her move closer so he wrapped one arm around her waist and drew her to him.

"I won't ever leave you, Narcissa," he whispered softly in her ear.

Eventually, they both fell asleep, listening to the pattering of the rain landing on the window.

* * *

** Comments:**

As I said above, this may be the last time I post in a while. I'm sorry about this but well, aside from work commitments, I still have to write a story for this so you may just have to be patient! But hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get it uploaded.

'Till then, adios, auf Wiedersehen, sayonara, ciao, au revoir, toodle-loo, see ya:-)


	5. 17th September, 2001, 8:07am

Hey all! Good news, I've been doing a bit of writing on this - the writer's block kind of ended. I didn't really have it in the first place but this story was a fair bit harder to write cos I don't know for sure where things will go. However, now that I've managed to fix up the next bit after this chapter, things should move a little quicker, even if I don't get to upload things as readily as I would like.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who wrote reviews for this - I'm glad to see people are enjoying this one as well as my other one as well. It certainly is a good ego boost :-) So maybe I'll be able to post the next chapter soonish. We shall see.

**Comments:**

**Macey Muse:** Wow, that's a crapload of languages! Pretty cool tho. In regards to how Robert marries, that will become apparent later on, or rather, in the next chapter. You'll see when I upload it, so you don't have to wait long. Although, the reason for Hermione going on holidays to France is probably just because her family like going there. The affair b/w Robert and Narcissa occurred in Muggle London. Ah, I see how you came to that conclusion now... Narcissa was attending Beauxbatons for a year but when she met Robert, she was on holidays back in England. She stayed over in France for a little after her schooling, claiming that she had taken up an apprenticeship with a Charms professor but really she was looking after Hermione during her first few weeks of life. Upon returning to England, she brought Hermione to Robert and to see him one final time.

**trapped-in-a-dream:** Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Narcissa's niceties are explained (I hope) later on. In the books she doesn't appear very friendly but I hope that I have worked in some form of explanation fairly well in the next chapter. Will see I guess.

**EosRaven:** Tis such a typical drama cliche, but a good one I think! Ah well. At least this time they were able to sort out their differences without resolving to verbal attacks. And yep, I like that they both have a memory of the other through Hermione. Perhaps a bit selfish but without her both would be messes.

I gotta thank Rocks-my-socks, EosRaven, Macey Muse and Little Black Poko-chan, cos you have all reviewed every single chapter:-) To everyone else, I'm grateful for your comments and things, it makes it worthwhile hearing people's opinins of it. It also gives me a chance to go over things that I may have missed or mis-written or something like that. So tis much appreciated.

Here is the next installment...

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_**

**_17th September, 2001_**

_**8:07am**_

Hermione Granger could barely contain her excitement. Today was her 21st birthday, which meant that it was the official start to her adult life. No more being under the control of her parents; not that she really was anyway, but at last she could make all of her decisions herself. Robert and Jane Granger had maintained a certain authority over her the last couple of years, despite her being of age. As they kept telling her, it was for her own good. She never knew what that actually meant, however decided it was best not to argue and perhaps that very reason would materialise soon enough where she could make her own decisions.

"Hermione! Are you ready to come down now?" her step-mother Jane's voice could be heard from the bottom of the stairs.

She was standing in front of her mirror, admiring the way that her face had finally disposed of the child-like features and now only carried the womanly shape and appearance that it should.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute," she responded.

Upon descending the stairs, Jane's bright and cheerful face was beaming back at her.

"How does it feel to finally be an adult?" she asked.

Hermione gave it a small thought. "Not really any different but at the same time, good."

"Well, your father's got a bit of a surprise for you out in the lounge-room, so make your way into there and he can give it to you."

Not too keen on surprises, especially since her parents were Muggles and she was not, Hermione grudgingly made her way into the lounge-room. She barely made it through the doorjamb when her three best friends from Hogwarts shouted "Surprise!"

Hermione was stunned beyond all feeling. "Wow!" she exclaimed, hands holding her face in shock.

"Happy Birthday, Hermione," Ron said cheerfully as he ran forth to hug her.

"Thanks Ron, thanks Harry and Ginny. My God, this IS a surprise."

After Ron had finished with her, Harry picked her up in one swift movement and twirled her about the room.

"Hey 'Mione. Happy Birthday," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

She flushed, not usually being on the receiving end of a Harry kiss. "Thanks Harry. I can't believe you guys are here!"

"Well, we couldn't miss your birthday. Especially your 21st, it's a bit of a big event," Ginny informed.

"Yeah, but it's not even a Saturday night."

"And? As I said, it's a bit event!"

Hermione was still shocked. It was Thursday morning, where she was meant to be getting ready for work at the St Mungo's laboratories.

"You aren't going to work, by the way," Ron murmured, giving her a sly look.

"What do you mean?" she replied sceptically.

"It is all arranged. You are having a day off; your bosses let us. Mind you, we had to pull some strings but in the end, they let you have one day off. Seeing as you haven't had one in three years."

"This is too much!"

"But we expect a huge thank you after today."

"Hey!" she smiled, knowing Ron was only joking.

"Anyway, there's a few things from us that you have to open, as well as from your parents as well," Harry told her.

They moved out the way to allow her a clear view of the gifts sitting around the coffee table. Amongst them, a cage containing a small grey owl was perched on the coffee table itself. Hermione was overjoyed; she knew it was probably more ideal to have bought an owl when she bought Crookshanks but she couldn't get past Crookshanks' demeanour.

She approached the owl and let it out of its cage. In response, the owl gave a small hoot in thanks and flew off to find a quieter place to sleep.

"Happy Birthday, Love," her father muttered from behind her back. She turned around to see both her parents standing in the doorway, huge smiles on their faces.

"Mum! Dad! How did you know?"

"We have our ways," Jane teased.

"I'm thrilled, thank you very much! I'll have to come up with a name for her, him, later on."

"It's a female. We thought perhaps you might like a female pet instead of two males," her father informed.

"I love her, I really do."

"But that's not it; our other present is the big orange one on the arm chair."

Wondering what this one could be, Hermione wandered over to the big square box and pondered over it. _Hmm, _she thought, _I wonder what it is._

Unwrapping it, she soon gasped as she saw the sight that beheld her. Inside the orange wrapping paper were two boxes; a gold one containing the inscription "_Dior_" in silver and a blue one with "_Malkin_" inscripted in gold. This only meant one thing. They were designer dresses, or robes perhaps in the case of the _Malkin_ box. _ Malkin_ was Madam Malkin's signature label for all things classy in the wizarding world. Hermione had no idea how her parents would have been able to get hold of one of her dresses if they were Muggles. She only guessed that perhaps Ginny had taken her.

She opened up the gold _Dior_ box and gasped. Inside was a simple yet very elegant black slip dress that she had once eyed on a shopping trip with Jane. What it was now doing in her lounge-room was beyond her; it had seemed far too expensive for her parents to have bought. Gently moving the box to the side, she opened up the blue box. Another gasp escaped her lips as she held up a silk dress, with bat-wing sleeves and the same frilly hem along the bottom of it. Madam Malkin's dress label was high priced and once again, Hermione was filled with the same disbelief as she had shown the other dress.

"Now you have a good dress for wherever you are," Jane told her.

"Mum, Dad, I cannot thank you enough," she whispered, still very much overcome with emotion to say anything else.

"Your welcome. Now, you have your friends' presents to open as well."

Turning back, Hermione eyed the remaining presents with as much curiosity as before.

"Here," Harry said, holding out a medium-sized object. "This is from Ginny and I."

Murmuring thanks, she took said present and began to unwrap it. Inside was a size 8 silver cauldron with the inscription "H.G." along the front of it.

"You didn't have to get me this!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm very thankful though; now I don't have to get it."

"We thought we'd save you the trouble, "Ginny winked.

"You have. My God, they're so pricy nowadays!"

"That doesn't matter. So long as you have a good one," Harry replied.

"Well, thank you all the same. Now…"

Ron reached out and grabbed the present on the left of him. "This is from Luna and I. She said she's sorry, but she had a pressing conference with the Greek Minister of Magic that she couldn't postpone."

"That's alright, tell her thanks."

She opened up the small rectangular box to reveal a gold-tipped quill. There was no real need for a new quill but this particular one was made from a hippogriff feather and as the little information sheet informed, gold found at the base of a mine in a small town in Australia.2 Seeing as the gold had come from much further away than one of the European goldmines, Hermione knew that the value of the quill was significantly higher than an ordinary gold-tipped one. Besides that, the tiny inscription of Thomas Jung on it was enough to convince her otherwise.

"Ron, this is lovely." She beamed at him.

"I know it probably doesn't have a huge use but we thought that when you get your own office and stuff, you'll really look like a professional with a nifty quill like that."

"I love it." She turned to all the others. "Thanks everyone. I love all my presents!"

"After you have your breakfast, we are taking you out and spoiling you," Ginny informed her, grinning madly.

"Ooh, I cannot thank you guys enough!" Hermione exclaimed.

She went back into the kitchen to have her breakfast, not realising that there was one final gift, in the guise of an envelope, sitting on the coffee table waiting to be opened.

* * *

**Comments:**

Why is Hermione calling Jane 'Mum' when she's her step-mother? Well, as you'll find out sooner or later (next chapter to be precise) Hermione was only very young when Robert met Jane, so … yeah. That explains it, I'm sure.

The small Australian town with the gold... Right, who's heard of Maldon, people? I'm guessing not even the Aussie readers have, unless they live in Maldon in Victoria…  It's a town approx. 130-50 km North West of Melbourne. Population: perhaps 5000 but I'm not really any good at counting. I've only been there a couple of times.

This installment is only smallish but the next one is much bigger. I hope you all keep reading. I'll try to update when I've written more to the story. Bye for now!


	6. 17th September, 2001, 10:12pm

Well, I guess it's time to continue the Hermione/Narcissa/Robert/Draco story.It's been a few days since I uploaded and everyone has been patient so as a reward, the next installment will be uploaded! Yay! Well, that and I was able to write a few more pages tonight. Anyway...

I appreciate everyone' comments and things for this story so far. As I keep saying, I like getting feedback for this story cos it gives me an indication of how it's going and if something isn't right, it can be noted to be fixed later on. So without further ado, I will move to **Comments** re: the last installment.

**Macey Muse:** Well, Ron and Draco will find out in due course, but for now, the secret is safe with me!

**Rocks-my-socks:** Prayers have been answered! That is what happens in this installment, but that is enough for now...

**earth-guide:** Hey, thanks for that, I'm glad it's relatively new (although the concept wasn't mine to begin with, the storyline is). But this chapter wasn't uploaded as frequently as the other ones. Hopefully it wasn't too late tho.

**kat6528:** Welcome aboard, and thanks for all the chapter reviews!

**Little Black Poko-chan:** I hope in that fic Hermione and Draco are NOT related tho... ;-) Don't worry; I highly doubt anyone but Paris Hilton would get these sorts of presents. But they are dentists so I thought that they would have a fair bit of cash lying around. For the record, I think Paris Hilton is a skank or a hoe, whatever word you would like to use.

Loving the reviews people, thanks for them!

On to the next installment...

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_**

**_17th September, 2001_**

_**10:12pm**_

_What a day!_

No sooner was she in the door that Hermione was ready to crash onto her bed. It had been a huge and exhausting day, filled with drinks at the Leaky Cauldron as well as shopping and the theatre in Muggle London, much to the amusement of Harry and Hermione. Ginny and Ron were not very accustomed to Muggle traditions and still found it exciting every time they stepped onto an escalator. They had gone to watch "Zoolander" at Hermione's request. Spending a day at the movies was something that Hermione missed while she was at Hogwarts and now working at St. Mungo's. It seemed perhaps quite juvenile but it was something that she took for granted when she was living at home. The day was made all the more better watching Ron's and Ginny's reactions to the big screen.

She was about to go and crash on her bed when her father wandered out from the study. He looked incredibly beaten, and upon closer inspection, Hermione noticed that he had been drinking.

"Dad?"

"I'm glad I've caught you, Hermione," he muttered, even though he didn't look it. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you."

This worried Hermione a bit. It was not like her father to drink by himself in the study, especially at that hour of the night.

"Sure."

As they wandered back into the study, he asked, "How was your day?"

"Oh it was really good; they sure know how to spoil someone." She knew he was stalling for time.

He sighed wearily, perhaps from fatigue or the after-affects of the alcohol. "I'm glad you had a good day. And I'm sorry that this couldn't wait until the morning but it is something quite important."

"Okay."

"You neglected to open one other gift this morning. Did you not see this envelope on the coffee table?" He gave said envelope to her.

Hermione studied it carefully. It was the same sort of envelope that had obviously come from a wizard or witch, judging by the type of paper used. Turning it over, the seal was another giveaway to that discovery. Nothing new really, given she was a witch herself but the seal was one that Hermione had not come across in her time in the Wizarding World. The wax was dark green and the seal itself was an eagle. The eagle was perched above a letter – "M". No family came to mind that began with the letter M that Hermione could think of who wanted to write to her. She looked at it in great wonder before actually opening it. Robert gave a sigh of impatience that prompted Hermione to look at him and start to open the envelope.

Reading the name at the bottom of the page, Hermione gasped for perhaps the twentieth time that day then went back to read the letter:

_Dear Hermione,_

_First of all, I must say congratulations on reaching your 21st birthday relatively unscathed. I know that there have been times when it seemed that perhaps you would not even make your Hogwarts graduation, so for that I say 'Well Done'._

_I feel the need to explain myself. You are no doubt wondering why I am writing to you when you and my son, Draco despised each other throughout your school years. You do not need to worry; I was completely aware of this fact and have nothing against you for feeling that way. Draco seems to take after his (now deceased) father quite a lot in that respect. I can only be thankful that he did not choose the same path of fate. I digress; I'm merely sidetracking from the reason for writing._

_There is no easy way to say this, but I know that you have grown up not knowing the identity of your real mother. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for that or how happy I am that your father chose someone so caring and thoughtful to help raise you. Hermione, I am your real mother._

At this point Hermione stood still, staring blankly at the page for what seemed like hours. She had always known that Jane was not her real mother. Her father had insisted that she (partly) know the truth in that respect. He never divulged the identity of her real mother, saying only that she cared a great deal for her and that she was someone who he had met a long time ago and who could not, for her family's sake, keep seeing him. Now she understood why.

Hermione looked at her father. He looked back at her sadly, giving her the impression that he was not yet over the heartache that this caused him. Her own heart panged for him. It must have been extremely hard to have fallen in love with someone and not be able to keep seeing them, for the sake of the family. Yet the very thought that she was Malfoy's half-sister was something that she could not really take all that easily. All throughout their Hogwarts days he had taunted her and called her Mudblood. This only stopped in their final year for some still unknown reason.

She realised that she was only half-way through the letter.

It continued:

_I have watched you grow up from afar and I can only marvel at the way your father and Jane have raised you. From what he has told me and from what I hear from Draco, you are exceptionally talented in anything that is put forth to you. He has informed me of your grades throughout your schooling, including your times at the Muggle schools, and I see that you continue to excel. You truly take after your father. I know how smart he is, although I'd like to think that you received my talent in magic. After all, your father couldn't very well have given you that as I'm sure you already know._

_This brings me to my second reason for writing. Hermione, my one request to you is that you allow me to meet you. I have always wanted for you to see me as I see you; my own flesh and blood. I know this will come as a shock and given your past animosity towards Draco and Lucius, I do not blame you if you do not wish to. I only hope that you will give great thought to it and do what you feel is right, whichever way that is. Please note that if you do not wish to meet me, I will not hold anything against you for it. I cannot say how horrible it must have felt for you that your birth mother did not partake in any of the special events of your life. I only hope that in due time, you can forgive me, or at least allow me to meet you, if only once._

_Once again, I cannot tell you how sorry I am for missing the events of your life. I have, as mentioned above, heard everything that you have done and am extremely proud of you._

_Happy Birthday, Hermione._

_Sincerely,_

_Narcissa Malfoy._

The silence in the room was overwhelming. Hermione could only stand still, unable to move from the spot that she had first taken up when reading the letter. It was still something that she was unable to take; Narcissa Malfoy being her real mother. How was one meant to take that? It was not exactly a concept that one found extraordinarily believable, nor great by any means. The woman (her mother, Hermione kept reminding herself) did not exactly spend quality time with her throughout her life. And how could her father have fallen in love with her? She was a Black for Christ's sake! Just when did that opportunity arise for him to cross her path? Why would Narcissa even consider a Muggle when she married the one person who despised Muggles perhaps the most behind Voldemort himself? How could she after what she did to her father?

Hermione looked back at Robert. He only continued to look at her with mournful eyes and a dullness that always seemed to hang over drunks. Now that she had a better look, he really must have been quite pissed. Robert was not usually the sort to drink big quantities of alcohol in any one session but tonight, that was exactly what he had done, or so it seemed.

"Dad," Hermione questioned. "Don't tell me she isn't kidding." Although she knew quite seriously that this letter was no joke.

"It is, Hermione," was his only response.

She read over the letter again. Well, Narcissa could certainly write a convincing letter. However it was not the Narcissa who Hermione had grown up to believe existed. The one she knew was just as bad as her son (and Hermione's half brother, something else that she found entirely astonishing). Perhaps it was all just an act? A way to create a sort of fantasy life to fool those who surrounded her? How else would her father have fallen in love with her? He was a smart man; someone who wouldn't just accept anyone from off the street for a quick shag and one night stand. He had morals; even when he was younger, Hermione knew for certain. All of Robert's close friends spoke of how mature the young Robert Granger was, despite his age. His closest friend of all and the man who Hermione had always felt was like a favourite uncle, John Westwood, never ceased to tell her that her father could spot a phony person from a mile away. _'Very perceptive, your father is, and I believe that he has not been fooled by any man or woman throughout his life so far.'_ He always spoke highly of her father; making Hermione feel just a little proud that she was his daughter, as many people also pointed out.

The conclusion to this little thought was that maybe she had Narcissa entirely wrong. Or perhaps Robert had indeed been fooled by someone, albeit only once. Once enough to change the course of his life forever. Either way, this did not change the fact that Hermione was half-Black and hence a half-Malfoy (seeing as that was Narcissa's married name and the name that she would take to her grave).

"So," Robert interrupted her thoughts. "What did you want to hear?"

"Sorry?" she asked him.

"I asked if you wanted to hear 'why'?"

"Oh."

She continued to look at him in a manner of one who has just been accused of lying. Her father knew how to intimidate her; yet she couldn't understand why he would do it to her now.

"You don't want me to tell you that 'yes, I made a mistake? Your mother is a witch? I fell in love with someone who was destined to break my heart and make a fool of me? There you go, I've just said it."

He became more and more agitated with each sentence. This was not like her father at all. He never lost his patience to this degree. It could only be put down to the amount of alcohol that he had been drinking throughout the night.

"Dad, why would I blame you?"

"Because, everything that you have been led to believe has almost been a lie. I have never disclosed the identity of your mother. You have grown up believing one story when in truth it is another. Your perception of your mother is one that cannot change overnight. You hate her, I know, and that's something that I cannot change, nor share the opinion of."

Hermione took a step closer to her father and matched his voice. "How can you say that?"

"Why wouldn't you think that? She had never once made contact with you personally. Furthermore, she is the mother of the one person that constantly made yours and your friends' lives a living hell throughout school. For all you've known, she may have been dead."

"I don't believe this! Dad, do you think I blame you for not having my real mother in my life?"

"Everyone else seemed to when they found out about you."

Her father was sounding childish, something that was extremely foreign to Hermione. His reasoning was fair enough but she felt no remorse for her upbringing. Considering he had very little choice, she felt that he had done considerably well, given circumstances.

"Well I don't! I did have a mother in my life! You made sure of that. I've only ever known Jane to be my mother. I know you told me from a young age that she was not my real mother but it has never felt like that. She accepted me as her own and made sure that everything was done for me in the right way and that I would be looked after throughout my life. Come on, Dad, I know that you feel that this whole thing is your fault but it's not! It's Narcissa's – my own mother's – fault as well. I don't know what sort of person you were led to believe that she was, but I've known in my encounters with her son – well, my half-brother now – that she is a very smart woman who knows how to get her own way when she wants to. She is very good at deviousness and can manipulate the minds of others quite well. She would not have survived at Malfoy Manor otherwise."

Throughout this, Robert seemed to quieten down a little. He still was red in the face and looked shamed but Hermione's words had softened his face somewhat. He felt for the big oak desk in the middle of the study and leant against it.

"I'm sorry for all this, Hermione. But please don't think that she was entirely at fault; it was equally my fault as well. I don't want you to have the wrong impression of her; after all, she is your birth mother. She may have appeared quite hard and deceitful on the outside in past encounters with her, but you did not see her that night when she returned to my flat. Nor did you see her when I first met her.

"I truly fell in love, Hermione. I know you can't believe this, but it's true. What's more, I believe she fell in love as well. I could not think of another reason why she would choose to have a child that – please don't take offence to this – was otherwise scorned upon to the rest of her family. Throughout your life, she continued to ask about you and she never failed to remember your birthday." At this Hermione went to protest. "Please let me finish," he pleaded, raising a hand to stop her from interrupting. "I know I just said that she took no part in your life but in actual fact she did. She has dealt with you many times, although not physically. That was to protect both herself and you. She was the one who funded your entire education, including your primary school years."

Hermione gasped. But she was a Muggle! Narcissa was a pure-blood! She was also her mother, she had to remember.

"Yes," Robert continued, acknowledging her reaction. "Your early education was funded by Narcissa. In fact, she didn't just fund that, she funded a lot of other things as well. She had wanted for you to experience the joys of life that she was denied. Your first trip to the beach for instance; you visited the beach for the first time when you were two. She was not allowed to venture out of the Black estate until she was 16 where her first beach adventure was when she went on exchange to France. Her host family lived on the Mediterranean Sea. Simple things like that. So even though she did not experience those pleasures in life with you, do not think that she had no part in them at all."

It seemed that perhaps her father was right in who the real Narcissa Malfoy was. He continued with his story.

"Every time you achieved a goal of yours, or even if you simply experienced something new, Narcissa insisted on telling her about it. She knows a great deal more about you than you think."

"But, she's seen me in public!" Hermione protested. "Why didn't she ever say anything to me, or even look in my direction to acknowledge my presence?"

"Who was she in town with?" Robert retorted. "Was it with that horrible Lucius, or her son?"

Hermione looked at her feet, defeated. "Yes."

"That is why. She is a smart woman, Hermione, a lot smarter than most people give her credit for. I have seen the way that she has been trodden into the ground by that sadistic and terrifying husband of hers. Yet, she continues to bounce back, determined that she will not be broken by him. You said so yourself. She is a clever woman who knows how to deal with a Malfoy."

This was all too much for Hermione. She resigned to sit in one of the leather chairs in the corner of the room and think. Robert continued to look at her with the same drunken air as he had earlier, although he did look a little better.

"Anyway," he pressed on, seeing that she would not be saying anything. "The decision is yours to make. She wrote to me as well, telling me on what she wished to ask you. I know that this will be something that you may not want to do but you had a right to know who your real mother was. I only hope that you are happy with the decision that you make. We had both better head off to bed. You need to work tomorrow and so do I."

But neither one of them moved from the study. Hermione continued to stare at her father, who only looked back at her in response. This continued for quite some time, when finally, Hermione felt it was time to talk.

"Can you at least tell me how it all happened?" she asked.

Robert looked at her and smiled sadly. "Very well."

He started from the beginning when Narcissa first approached him that night while he waited for the bus, 21 years ago. All the while, Hermione sat and listened to the story of how her parents met, taking in the details of her father's facial expressions as he recalled those special moments of his own life. She watched him smile in absolute joy when he told her of the night that Narcissa and he had spent together that very first time and how depressed he had felt for the next four weeks, thinking that he would never see her again. When he reached the point where Narcissa returned to his flat and of the conversation that followed, one single tear started to roll down his cheek. At the sight of this, Hermione got up out of her chair and made her way over to her father. She wrapped her arms around him and not a moment later, he reached up to her and held her close. The shared bond over something as unforgettable as a night filled with love and the loss of a mother was too much for both of them. The time continued to pass silently as each of them held the other near.

"She was the one who named you, you know," he informed her, breaking the silence.

This threw Hermione. "Really?"

"Yes. She remembered that I had wanted to name a child of mine after a Greek or Roman god or goddess because of my ancestor's names being so, well, English. She decided, for me, and to keep the tradition in her own family alive, to name you after the daughter of Helen of Troy and King Menelaus of Sparta. Your middle name was to please my own family, maintaining the custom of traditional British names."

"Narcissa – well I should say, Mum – really named me?"

"She did. Contrary to popular belief nowadays, she was very thoughtful. Can you see why I don't believe all the stories that are floating around about her? I choose not to. I knew the truth and that was more than anyone else knew. To me, that was all that mattered."

"I can see now. I won't say that it completely changes my opinion, although perhaps that will change in time. It's still quite difficult to accept at the moment."

"I understand Hermione, really. But please don't believe everything that you hear, especially now that you know the truth."

This revelation over her real mother was trying for both Hermione and her father. However, she knew that there were probably not many other times to ask her father about other details in regards to her. Despite the pain that it caused him to remember such memories, Robert had answered her questions quite willingly and in depth so as to inform her of everything. Hermione decided to push her luck just a little bit further.

"If you knew that she was the one that you loved, then how were you able to move on with your life?"

Robert sighed. "I think it's quite known now that I still haven't gotten over her. You see, I may not have been able to handle it so well had I been completely on my own throughout your life. I had a hand in keeping you to begin with. Your great-aunt Ruth was of great assistance; she was always looking after you if I had too much study to do, which was a lot of the time, actually. Not to mention John, who was always there to take care of you if I just wanted a bit of time off. He was fantastic, in fact. The reason for his wanting to help out was not only to assist a mate, but also for preparation of having a child of his own. The best part, according to him," At this, Robert started to smile, "was the fact that he could give you back at the end of the day."

Hermione laughed. It was very typical of her favourite 'uncle' to say something like that. Every time she saw him, he was always full of jokes and laughter. Sometimes Hermione wondered whether it was to counteract all the dealings with people that required his psychological aid.

Robert continued talking. "Yes, he certainly helped out when things became really tough. John knew how hard it was for me to look after a child to the one person whom I could never be with. The thing was, had I not decided to look after you, I would not have anything to remind me of Narcissa. The truth is; you, Hermione, were the one thing that truly kept me going after Narcissa left that final morning when she dropped you off. She only looked at you with tears in her eyes, saying how much she wished things were different. But I knew that she would still play a part in your life if I promised to keep you. I guess I was a bit selfish in that respect but at the same time, if I didn't have you to look after, I would be a great mess now. So, after we parted our separate ways, I vowed to honour her wishes for you to have a suitable upbringing."

Hermione looked into her father's eyes and saw that they appeared quite glassy. Yes, it was obvious that he was not yet over Narcissa, and it appeared that she was not over him. It kind of made her feel a little annoyed that he married Jane when he clearly loved another woman. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"When was it that you decided to marry?"

Robert shifted uneasily, as if he could sense where this question had come from. He pondered the question a little, perhaps deciding how to put it, then continued.

"You see, you were only two years old. I had just commenced working at my first surgery and money was still a bit tight. Not for you, of course because Narcissa had said that she would fund everything for you and she never broke her word. No, I was still trying to put some money away to buy a house. I guess I would have been able to buy that house much sooner had I not stopped off at the coffee shop after work each night for a late afternoon devonshire tea. Now that I think about it, it served as a reminder of Narcissa – a coffee shop being where it all began. A bit silly of me, really, seeing as I still had a young mouth to feed upon my return. Well, it was at this particular coffee shop that I met Jane. Sure, I'd been out with women throughout that time but it never felt right; we never seemed to click like Narcissa and I did. But Jane was different.

"I was sitting at my usual table inside the window, overlooking the street when I heard the door fly open and a gust of wind follow. Just as I was about to turn around and attack the person who had the nerve to cause such a racket, I heard a voice at the counter saying, 'For God's sake Beryl, give me a cappuccino before I die of fatigue. The blasted conference went for far too long than was expected.' Well, I wasn't too sure what she was talking about, but it quite made me laugh. She turned around to say something and I realised that she heard me. I apologised to her and I don't really know what made me do it, but I asked what sort of conference she had just attended. She proceeded to tell me that it was the Royal Dentist's Academy's 150th anniversary and she was part of a surgery that had a long affiliation with the academy. Needless to say, I was shocked to meet a fellow dentist whom I had never seen in my time at university nor come across in my work.

"We got talking and I found that she was quite easy to talk to. In fact, she was the one person who could get me to talk aside from John and Narcissa. She had also had her fair share of heartache; by the sound of things, it was something quite hurtful as well. This, of course, I didn't learn until much later in the relationship. I had questioned my feelings for her at one stage and discovered that she was feeling exactly the same. For some reason, it made things much easier to bear and we both developed a trust for each other that neither had felt in a long time. That was when I realised that there was life after Narcissa, even if I never stopped loving her."

That was quite satisfactory for Hermione but there was still something that bothered her.

"When did she discover that you had a child?"

"Oh, she knew that very early on in the relationship. It was something that I didn't want to keep from her when I soon realised that she was worth meeting again. At first, she seemed a little apprehensive but when she met you and continued to see you, she fell in love with you as you got to know her."

"So why didn't you ever have children?"

Robert hesitated in his response, but answered a few moments later.

"She was infertile."

Hermione look at him shocked. "That must have been horrible for her, to be looking after someone else's child and none of her own."

"I believe that's also why she found it difficult at the start. However, she was quite determined that she would care for you as if you were her own."

Robert shifted his position and looked at Hermione seriously. "I cannot imagine how hard this contact with you from Narcissa must be for her. Please spare a feeling for her. She knew it was going to happen but you can never prepare for these things."

"That's fine, Dad. Really, I love her as if she was my own mother. She was always there with any crisis that I faced and I can't just forget all that. She is as much a part of my life as what you are, and I guess, as what Narcissa was, despite not physically being there. Although I still can't get over that. I guess that will come with time."

"It will, Hermione. I also hope that you make the right decision in whether to meet her or not."

"I'll certainly have a good think about it, that's for sure."

"That's good." Robert looked at his watch. "Well Hermione, it's 12:30. We really better go to sleep!"

"Wow, is it really? We must have been talking for a long time."

"It was worth it. I hope this talk clarifies a lot of things for you."

"I think it has. Take care, Dad. You have had a lot to drink, you know."

He smiled at her. "Yes, I daresay I won't be having any more of these in a long time."

"I hope not. Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Hermione."

* * *

** Comments:**

In referal to Hermione's comment that Robert looks pissed - I know that in America the term 'pissed' means to be angry or 'pissed off'. In this context, it means 'drunk'. I dunno if this is just an Aussie term for 'drunk', but anyway.

"...Hermione feel just a little proud that she was his daughter, as many people also pointed out." By this I mean, if someone tells you that you are truly your father's/mother's daughter/son, it means that you are just like them. That is what I meant here – Hermione continues to be told that she is her father's daughter.

Will see when I can update next. Might be a couple of weeks, who knows? I have to write more to the storyline. Although something I just wrote I think sounds pretty cool, not something that usually appears in Hermione fics either. Well, not many anyway.

See y'all...


	7. 19th September, 2001, 12:05pm

Hey all, I'm sorry its taken so long to upload, I needed to write chapters and I didn't get to do much on this one, have only really been fixing up those chapters, one being this one that is about to be uploaded. That is why I decided to upload it - cos its pretty right I think.

Anyway, thanks to all reviews! I will try to answer qns now or respond to other comments...

**Macey Muse:** I like John too. He is one of those people who anyone would warm to. I hardly think it has anything to do with his profession, it's just who he is. Maybe he became a psychologist for that reason, cos he is such a cool person! I think that would be the reason. But yeah, Narcissa will meet Hermione in due course. I would also like to think that Robert will meet up with her as well, but I dunno. Will see how the story goes...

**EosRaven:** Hey thanks, it's always good to hear things like that. I like Robert's character. He is obviously much more in the storyline than my other story, and his character is different too. But I still like them both as much as the other. And you won't catch me making that decision, I mean, not that I have ever been in Hermione's position (or at least I don't think I will ever be! ;-) ) but it would suck.

**Mistress-of-Mystery:** Wow, I really liked this chapter but I didn't think it would affect anyone like that! I guess it was pretty powerful then. In a strange way, thats pretty good that I got that reaction, it shows I did my job correctly.

**Alenor:** Too right I am an Aussie:-) Proud of it as well. Tho I heard from a couple of people that 'pissed' is also an English term - I think Bridget Jones says it a couple of times!

**Caitlin:** Hey that's cool to hear! I hope this chappy is as good as previous ones then!

To everyone else who wrote, thank you and I hope that you enjoy the next installment (i've taken to not calling them chapters cos I don't think that they are really), adios my fellow forty short! (taken from George from Seinfeld... ;-) )

**_

* * *

19th September 2001_**

_**12:05pm**_

"Ginny, I have a bit of news that I don't think Harry should find out about, not just yet."

Hermione was sitting with Ginny, drinking Butterbeers at their usual table in the Three Broomsticks. Ginny was looking at her; not sure of what to expect.

"Go on."

Hermione really didn't know where to begin. Should she start by saying her father had been on more than amicable terms with Narcissa Malfoy? That he knew Narcissa in the first place? Where and how did it happen?

Ginny was starting to grow impatient. "Yes?" she tried again, a bit more forcefully.

"It's a lot harder to get out than you think," Hermione said, clearly annoyed at the youngest Weasley's frustration.

"Well, why don't you say the first thing that comes to your mind? I find that helps." She took a mouthful of beer.

"Narcissa Malfoy is my mother."

Unfortunately, Ginny didn't have time to swallow said beer and she spat it out, spraying particles of the drink everywhere, including all over Hermione.

"Christ, Gin!" Hermione yelled, exasperated.

"God, sorry but that was obviously _not_ what I was expecting."

Hermione stood up, took her wand from her pocket and muttered a quick drying spell. Her clothes were no longer wet but there were still small stains where the beer had got her.

"Ugh! Well, it's done now, and I guess you did tell me to say the first thing that came to mind."

"Yeah but I didn't think it would be that!" she exclaimed, wide-eyed and aghast. "How the hell did this come about?"

"Two nights ago. Dad handed me a letter that I neglected when I was opening presents."

"Gee, that's a pretty rough way to finish your birthday."

"It's not if you knew the whole story!" Hermione retorted.

"Hang on; you're sticking up for Malfoy's mother?"

"You're forgetting, she's _my_ mother as well"

"Oh yeah." Ginny had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry about that, it's just a strange concept, that's all. I mean, think of the way that we've thought of her during school. It wasn't very pleasant."

Hermione sighed. "I know, that was the way I thought of it when I read the letter. I've got it here if you want to have a read of it."

Ginny looked at her questioningly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. You may as well, seeing as I'm telling you about this."

Hermione waited while Ginny silently read the letter, taking sips of her beer as she did so. Upon reading the part about Narcissa being Hermione's mother (or so Hermione guessed), Ginny nearly spat her beer out again. She managed to keep control of herself and resorted to not consuming any more of the beverage while she read the rest of the letter.

After a couple of minutes, she laid the letter back in front of Hermione.

"Wow," she said a bit shocked. "It certainly is a bit of a pickle you're in, although she did write a fairly convincing letter."

"That's what I thought at the start. I also remembered that she was still a Malfoy, masters of manipulation."

"But now she's _your_ mother."

"Yeah, I know."

This last comment kind of startled Hermione, given that not five minutes beforehand, Ginny was convinced that Narcissa was still the pure-blood bitch that everyone believed her to be. She wondered whether the letter had convinced her and that it sounded fairly true enough. In any respect, she appeared very sympathetic to Hermione's situation.

"It's just that I had trouble believing that she would be so caring," Hermione said after a few minutes.

"I don't blame you at all. Until just now, she was still Malfoy's mum and someone who really didn't seem to care about anyone else but her family."

"Well, she probably still doesn't. Except that now, _I'm_ her family and it appears that she _does_ care about me. From the sounds of things, she cares for Dad as well, just like he hasn't stopped caring for her."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. When they first met, I think they both fell in love." She saw the look that Ginny gave her and continued. "I know, it sounds weird, but Dad isn't the sort to lie about it. And Uncle John keeps telling me that no-one has got the better of Dad yet. He would know, too."

Ginny looked at the table for a bit then looked Hermione in the eye.

"Can I ask how it started?"

Hermione took a deep breath then started from the start; the time when Robert first met Narcissa. The story she told was almost word for word the story that Robert had told her, only she filled in the gaps from when Narcissa left her with him as a baby to present time with the facts that Robert had told her later.

"_She_ paid for you to go to a Muggle school? But she's a pureblood!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I know," Hermione responded, a small grin playing on her lips. "I guess that confirms that she really does love me, if she was willing to do that. It's just so weird; I always thought she was a snooty person. Remember her at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Yeah, who could forget. She really didn't look that impressed sitting up in the VIP box with Malfoy and Lucius. It was as if she couldn't stand to even be associated with the Quidditch World Cup, let alone attend it!"

"Unless it was because she was sitting with Lucius. Dad did say that he was a real prick to her. He also said that he didn't know how she could tolerate him; she's a tough woman, apparently."

"You'd have to be; living with not one but _two_ Malfoys!" Ginny giggled.

"Obviously. I think she's has done well for herself in that respect. It couldn't have been easy for anyone to be married to a Death Eater. Not to mention also having a son who almost went the same way, I think you'd need to be strong to be able to handle that sort of thing."

"So, there's obviously more to her than a pretty face. Wow," she said, shaking her head on wonder, "I _still_ can't believe that Narcissa Malfoy's your mother."

"Yeah, it's certainly strange. I guess I'll get used to it later."

"Time cures everything. Hey," Ginny sat up straight, "do you think Malfoy knows?"

Hermione sat in thought for a moment, brow furrowed and chewing her bottom lip. "I highly doubt that he would, to be honest."

Ginny looked at her inquisitorially. "Why is that?"

"Because how do you think he would react to that? Narcissa knows that Malfoy and Harry were worst enemies. Why else do you think I haven't already been killed by him? I just don't think he would, that's all."

"Yeah, fair point. I would pay top Galleon to see the look on his face when he does find out. Then again, I don't think it would be a good idea to stick around when he discovers yours and his little blood-link."

"No, I don't either."

It was at this point that their lunches arrived. There was not much time to talk about anything whilst they ate but afterwards, Ginny asked the question that Hermione knew was coming.

"So, have you decided what you want to do?"

Hermione put down her knife and fork and took a great gulp of her beer. All the while, Ginny sat patiently waiting for her to finish.

"I still haven't decided that. I thought that perhaps I needed to talk to someone about it first."

"Well, I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me about it but the decision is still yours to make."

"I know." Hermione sighed. "I just wanted to hear someone else's thoughts before I decided anything."

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. "By the sounds of things, it appears that you have already semi-consciously made a decision."

Hermione creased her brow in confusion. "Why is that?"

"Because why else would you seek another opinion if you didn't want to do anything about it? You would have just said 'no' and left it at that. Afterwards, _if_ and _only_ if you were asked, you would say why you didn't want to take further action. So, I can tell; you're thinking of meeting her, aren't you?"

It annoyed Hermione to know just how right Ginny was in the matter. Ginny had always been a lot smarter than Ron, despite being younger than him. Furthermore, she was a lot more perceptive than a lot of people gave her credit for. She had been very useful in the fight against Voldemort, where her acute talent for scrutiny prompted Dumbledore to persuade Snape into teaching her Legillimency and its brother skill, Occlumency. Neither teacher nor student were keen on the idea at first, but after it became apparent that she was a much more skilled pupil than Harry was in those arts, Snape had kept the lessons going until she was almost as proficient as he. Nowadays, she didn't get to use either discipline often but she hoped that this would change when she graduated to become a fully-qualified Auror. Until then, she would have to settle for analysing her friends, much to their great annoyance.

Hermione glared at her, knowing that this would not do anything to change Ginny's opinion, and took another swig of her drink.

"Do you ever get sick of being right?"

Ginny grinned. "Not really. It wasn't like it was hard to pick. Seriously though, would you meet her straight away or wait a while?"

"I'm still not sure of that. I mean, I have a lot of questions that I wouldn't mind answered but I'm not sure if I'm ready for answers. Not just yet, anyway."

"Just don't to put if off forever."

"I won't; don't worry. It's just that these last few days have been so full-on; I just think I need a bit of space before I make any kind of formal decision. Besides, I can't imagine what this must be like for Mum."

"Er, by 'Mum', you mean Jane, right?"

"Yeah. I think she'll always be Mum. Narcissa will be Narcissa, but she won't be the same Narcissa as what I've previously thought of her."

Ginny smiled. "Fair enough. Well, it's certainly a story to tell to your grandkids!"

Hermione laughed. "That's one way of thinking about it. Providing everything works out well, of course, but it certainly makes for a change over the usual 'I met your father in Flourish and Blotts when we both reached for the same book on a shelf'!"

"Or what about, 'your father thought he was too good for me all through high school until I grew tits. We've now been married for over twenty years'!"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, laughing all the same.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Being around mostly men all day; it tends to rub off on me."

"I can only hope that you don't say that sort of thing in front of your mother."

"No, she wouldn't care, anyway. When Bill announced that Fleur was pregnant and that the wedding would have to be held sooner, Dad let off quite a few profanities. Mum just looked at him and told him that he should be glad that they were getting married before having kids as opposed to afterwards."

"Wow, she really didn't care about the language?"

"She didn't then but I wouldn't count on it all the time."

"I have not heard anything bad come out of Dad's mouth. It makes me feel bad when I swear."

"Wow. There wouldn't be a day that I don't. I probably should stop but working with some of those Aurors, Kingsley in particular, it's quite difficult not to."

It was at this point that Madam Rosmerta came over and picked up their plates.

"Gin," Hermione said. "It's nearly 1:30. Do you think we should go? Mr Ferguson over behind the bar is giving us funny looks."

"Ooh yeah, I have to go back home. I have to meet the twins to discuss what we're going to do for Bill and Fleur's engagement party. They want to come up with something really exciting, as opposed to the usual formalities. I think Bill would be fine with that; Fleur I'm not so sure of."

Hermione laughed. "Well I can certainly understand that! Say 'hi' to everyone for me, then."

"I will. Hey, I've heard George mentioning your name to Fred a couple of times in private. Do you know anything about that?"

"What? That's news to me."

"Oh. I thought that they may have visited you or something."

"No, I haven't spoken to them since Harry's birthday."

"Oh well. Perhaps they might mention it tonight. You're still coming out with us, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't miss a chance to get pissed quick with friends now, would I?"

Ginny laughed. "No, we all need those nights sometimes. Anyway, I'll floo you later about tonight, hey?"

"Yeah, after 5. I have some work to catch up on."

"Okay, talk to you then."

"Bye."

Ginny walked out of the pub ahead of Hermione and disappeared up the street. Hermione found a park bench to sit on to mull over what her and Ginny had talked about. It was true; she really had wanted to meet Narcissa but the timing was something that seemed to be quite wrong. Then again, when was a good time to meet her birth mother and the mother of her arch-nemesis? Never, it seemed. Perhaps it could be put off a while longer although sooner or later, Narcissa would probably require a reply of Hermione's actions.

And what was this about Fred and George talking about her?

After sitting there for what seemed like a quarter of an hour, Hermione got up and went back home to do her work.

* * *

**Comments:**

None for this chappy but for any questions, fire away and I will endeavour to answer them (notice the lack of writing sentences properly, I really can't be arsed tonight but hey, who can really?).

See y'all...


	8. 19th September, 2001, 9:43pm

Hey all, sorry that there hasn't really been any chapter updates lately. This is the last written 'installment' so it might be a good while before there is another installment uploaded. I'm really sorry 'bout that but I've had a real struggle with uni as well as I have only just in the last few days been able to update my other story. That story was always going to hold priority over this one because the storyline is much more established than this one, as you may be able to tell with spontaneous tangents with plot and stuff. I will see just where I can go with this one, I have ideas but just not to the extent that I do my other story.

Anyway, best to get to reviews and comments...

**Macey Muse: **Yeah, one could assume that it's not good news but ... will see! ;-) I always think that Ginny is more bubbly and spontaneous than perhaps the others given that she is the only girl in a family of 6 boys. I think that she is probably more like Fred and George, especially now after the fifth book. I can't imagine a dizzy-Lizzy Ginny, it wouldn't work...

**MagicnMusicdgurl:** Nope, so far Draco knows nothing about it and Lucius will never know because he has passed on (see part _**17th September, 2001, 10:12pm**_ in Narcissa's letter about this). How Lucius died is something that I am yet to come up with, but all I know is that he has at some point between the fifth book and Hermione's 21st birthday.

There has been a fair bit of speculation regarding why Fred and George would be talking about Hermione. The answer to that question can be found in this installment... I also have a feeling I will lose a few readers after this as well! Sorry bout that.

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, I like comments! Anyway, on to the next installment...**_  
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**_19th September, 2001_**

_**9:43pm**_

Hermione was unable to think of her little problem that night, much to her great relief. Her night was as enjoyable as a night on the town could ever be. Much to her delight, Harry, Ron and Ginny decided that it would be better to go clubbing in Muggle London, as opposed to the one wizarding nightclub, Warlocks.

Warlocks was good on some occasions but was more renowned for having sleazy old wizards and ex-Death Eaters hanging around the bar as opposed to young witches and wizards on the dance floor. If anything, it had developed a bit of a bad reputation ever since Susan Bones, ex-Hufflepuff at Hogwarts, had managed to get herself into a fight with the bartender and hence start an all-out brawl.

The reason for the fight in the first place was because Horacious Nott, Theodore Nott's great-uncle, who refrained from joining the death eaters only because he didn't want to go to the meetings, had sidled up to Miss Bones in her drunken state, expecting some late night action. This in turn caused her to become extremely uncomfortable. After complaining to the witch behind the bar, she was greeted with a very non-committal response of "Miss, you do realise who just approached you, don't you? You do not refuse that man."

Very upset, Susan jumped the bar and started to frantically plead with the bartender to do something about it. Shocked but not perturbed, the witch only called security from where she was. Susan screamed at her to listen to what she was saying and started to punch the bartender in anger. The security guards (one tall, surly wizard and a very masculine-looking witch) could not get to the bar in time and before too long, the people at the bar had joined in the fight. Next thing, nearly the entire bar was caught in the middle of the brawl. The two security guards managed to hex some of the offenders before the Aurors arrived but it was still quite a session for the Aurors.

Nothing like that had happened for some time, since the fall of Voldemort in 1998. In fact, some witches and wizards in the Ministry had wondered whether there was any point to still have Aurors in the world. If there were any doubts, that night proved their worth.

It had never really been a favourable watering hole for Hermione and her friends anyway. She had always preferred the laid-back atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks or the raucous but entertaining crowd in the Leaky Cauldron on a Friday night. For those times that she wanted something completely different, she and the gang would go to the Muggle nightclubs and bars. Tonight was no exception.

She sat at a table close to the bar with Ginny and Lavender, watching the rest of them out on the dance-floor. Harry and Ron were as uncoordinated as ever but it didn't seem to bother them. Seamus and Dean were playing pool with Fred and George, who had taken time out of their busy weekend schedule to celebrate Hermione's birthday. They had only just taken up the Muggle sport in recent years but were more than adequate players. Still, they were not quite the match for Seamus and Dean, who both had a lifetime experience in playing. Luna was dancing with Ron and Harry, not bothered by their lack of ability, but instead making up for both of them.

"I can't believe you guys insisted on taking me out!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Why wouldn't we?" Ginny asked.

"Well, since we went out on Thursday. I just thought that everyone would be over it by now."

"Hon," Lavender reassured, to the annoyance of Hermione at calling her 'Hon'. "It's not every day that one turns 21. Besides, _we_ didn't go out on Thursday. We heard about it but we all still wanted to go out. So," she picked up her cosmopolitan cocktail and took a sip out of the straw, "we needed to get you sloshed because really, when was the last time that happened?"

They all laughed. It was true; due to her work commitments, there were not many chances for Hermione to go out anymore. Her birthday was the first time in more than three weeks that she had gone out. Even moreso, she had gone out twice in the last few days; an absolute rarity. She decided then and there that she would have to do it more often; she only realised at that moment how much she missed her friends' company.

"Okay," she replied. "But don't think that I'll be getting completely pissed tonight. I'm just here to enjoy my night with everyone."

"Are you sure?" Lavender questioned.

"Yes."

"That's not what you told me at lunch today," Ginny quipped.

"Well, there is a difference between a joke and the real thing. Besides, the last time I had a big night, I woke up half-naked next to that Muggle, who was it? Oh that's right, Anthony Baxter. Now, as appealing as he was to the eye, don't think that he was great in the sack." At this, her audience just looked at her, stunned. "It's true. Besides that, I don't want to have another one-night-stand, especially not with someone as incompetent as him."

"I guess."

They continued watching the rest of the group dancing to a remix of Kylie Minogue's 'On A Night Like This', smiling at the way Harry and Ron kept bumping into each other as Luna kept rolling her eyes. Hermione turned to make a comment to Ginny, although upon looking in her direction, she could see that Ginny would not be listening. Instead, she was all gooy-eyed, fawning over her boyfriend in the same way as a mother would gaze upon her newborn. Hermione laughed to herself and turned to see how the boys at the pool table were doing.

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of Lavender's voice. "So Anthony was that bad in bed?"

Hermione spun around to see Lavender grinning, taking another sip of her cocktail. This caused Hermione to laugh, almost knocking over her own Toblerone cocktail in the meantime. At this, Ginny turned around to see the two of them in fits of laughter, unable to talk.

"What's so funny?" she asked cautiously.

"Oh," Hermione said, after a moment to compose herself. "You two have no idea how much Anthony was clueless about anything in the bedroom."

"We're still on that are we?" Ginny muttered.

"Only just. Really, it was highly embarrassing at the time, seeing as he really should have known better at 25 years of age. Now I look at it as a way to keep myself on track. In fact, I highly recommend everyone to experience someone that shit, in case they feel that they are a little incompetent themselves. Use it as a way to show that there is always someone worse off than you."

"Hermione, that's an awful thing to say!" Ginny exclaimed, however she could not suppress the grin from appearing on her face.

"I agree with Hermione," Lavender responded. "I mean really, how else are you meant to compare who's good and who's bad?"

"Well, I don't need to. Harry does all the right things."

"Ginny, how do you know that for sure?"

"I have my reasons," Ginny said slyly, grinning broadly at the same time.

"Ugh! I don't want to know." Hermione said as she covered her ears with her hands. Pulling them down to her lap again, she continued. "So Gin, you still haven't told me about your day organising the engagement party."

"Oh," Ginny said in exasperation. "Really, the day was an absolute disaster."

"Why is that?"

"First of all, Bill and Fleur insisted that they wanted only close friends and family to be present. We had planned all the food and stuff for that, in other words, it was going to be a formal three course meal in the Ballroom above the Three Broomsticks. As we were about to come up with the decorations, which was to be Fred and George's department, Fleur changed her mind because she realised that she had quite a few other close friends from Beauxbatons that she had somehow forgotten about. So now it's opened up to a lot more people, including all of our friends as well. This then put us in a tizz because we then had to arrange all the food to be hors d'œuvres instead of a main meal. That wasn't the worst part. Fred had wanted to use Bowtruckles in a garden display, much to Bill's delight except that it was now apparent that some of Fleur's friends have allergies to them, so they had to be scratched."

"Bowtruckles? They're a bit delicate, aren't they?"

"Well, Bill has a fondness for them after discovering them on a Gringott's trip to Germany once. Fleur hadn't come across many in her life but still thought that they were cute. It complimented both of their favoured lifestyles of the outdoors.

"Anyway, we then had to settle upon something that would suit everyone. Bill still wanted some sort of live creature to be present, so finally, we all settled upon a flock of Jobberknolls to fly around the place and keeping the garden display to a minimum. The Jobberknolls seemed sufficient because they only eat small insects and they create no noise unless they are dying. Having said that, I can only hope that no-one tries to kill them because we will have all our hands full trying to ensure that the happy couple are enjoying themselves. We can't have people running around thinking someone is being murdered."

"Then why settle on them at all?"

"Things were getting quite stressful and in truth, I really think they were settled on to shut Fleur and her friends up. Now, I like Fleur but she really can be quite a snob sometimes."

"So are there going to be anything else that the twins have got planned?"

"Well, there is one more thing but they say that it is only for them to know about. They want to keep it under wraps for the big night. However, they assure me that it won't be like their usual pranks. They know how important this night is for Bill and Fleur."

"Wow, sounds like it should be a good night then."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Just at this moment, Harry had left the dancefloor to come over to the girls.

"You going to dance, or what?" he asked them.

"I'll come along, if you want," Ginny offered. "These two still have drinks to finish."

"Okay, but you two had better not be too long."

"We won't," Hermione and Lavender answered in unison.

"Don't worry, I'll teach him a thing or two about dancing," Ginny winked. "By-eee!"

She left for the dancefloor with Harry, leaving Hermione and Lavender sitting at the bar.

"So Hermione," Lavender said the minute Ginny was out of earshot. "How long do you think Ron and Luna'll last?"

"Ooh, I'm not sure if I should answer that, Lavender." Hermione knew the potential for any secret to be spread around the wizarding world within the hour at the hands of Lavender or her friend Pavarti. It was only that Pavarti was off visiting family with Neville in India that it wouldn't be spread around within the minute.

"Don't tell me you've questioned this yourself." Lavender's eyes opened with wonder.

"No, not really. It's just that Ron is so preoccupied with Quidditch lately that I wasn't sure whether Luna would get sick of it."

"Yes, they do seem to disagree on that."

"But then again, no-one seems capable of controlling Ron as Luna does, not that she has him under the thumb but just enough to keep him on the straight and narrow. And underneath, I know he has admired her courage and strength ever since the final battle. For a Ravenclaw, that is. I think he really respected that she joined the Order so early on. She was the only Ravenclaw to do so. They aren't renowned for their audacity."

"No, you're right there. But that doesn't mean that they will stay together now. I mean, the battle was four years ago."

"Yes, but Luna lost her father during it. Even though she may still appear to be somewhat on the strange side, she really matured after the war. I think she grew up quicker than she would have normally. She wouldn't just jump into a relationship without thinking about it. I know how much her father meant to her; she would be very careful in choosing a potential partner for life. She doesn't want to lose him like she did her father."

Lavender said nothing but looked back in wonder. "I suppose you're right. But you don't think she's willing to throw herself at anyone _for_ that very reason? So as to fill the void in her life?"

"Hmm, now that you've said that, I'm not sure. Although it was a long time afterwards before either one of them made a move. No, I think she has thought about this considerably."

"True I suppose."

It was at this moment that Seamus, Dean and the Weasley twins made their way back over to the girls. Seamus took up a seat next to Lavender and Dean remained standing for a minute, checking out the talent on the dancefloor.

"What," Seamus looked at Lavender. "You aren't dancing tonight?"

"No," she responded. "I'm having a breather for the moment. I have a drink." She lifted up her glass.

"Hey Fred, how did you blokes go?" Hermione asked the twin standing beside her.

"Well, that's George but I'll let it slide," the other twin said from behind her. She spun around quickly to see the real Fred smiling at her. He took up the seat beside her and George sat beside him.

"Is there _any_ way of telling the difference between you two?" she asked in defeat.

Fred smiled. "Well, there is one difference."

"Do I want to ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that. But it's so small that it really is quite difficult to tell, even for _us_ sometimes."

"Oh for God's sake!" she laughed. "Alright, what is it then?"

"George has a freckle on his neck about a quarter of an inch in diameter, about here," he said, pointing to the same spot on himself, "just off to the right side. As you can see, I don't have anything."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Sorry to interrupt this fantastic conversation," George muttered sarcastically, "but surely there's something better to talk about."

"What's wrong with it?" Hermione asked.

"Talking about Fred's and my personal features doesn't seem the most interesting topic for conversation."

"It might not be for you but I for the rest of us, well, we would love to know an easier way of telling you two apart."

"I think that you'll know the difference between the two of us soon enough," Fred said quietly to her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Fred didn't say anything, but gave her a smile. Hermione just smiled back in wonder.

"So how did you boys end up going then?" Lavender asked generally, to avoid further confusion.

"Well," George stated proudly, "Seamus and I teamed up, to make it a bit more even and so far the series is very close. Dean and Fred are ahead 5-4."

"Gee, you must have been playing a while then!"

"Yeah," Fred cut in, before George could get a chance. "But the games ended up going rather quickly. So really, it's only been about two hours."

"Oh ok then."

"Would you boys like to join Lavender and I for a drink?" Hermione asked.

"We'd love to, right George?"

"Right."

"So, what are you having?"

"I have mine already," Lavender interjected. "Don't worry about me."

"Alright, one less person to shout. So Hermione, what will it be?"

"Hmm, I just finished my second cocktail so I think I'll have another one, only this time not as strong."

"Would you like me to surprise you?"

"Um, I don't think that would be wise. Perhaps I'll choose a Bloody Mary then."

Fred smiled at her. "Coming right up."

As he and the other boys went to order drinks (Becks beers for the lads and the Bloody Mary for Hermione), Lavender looked at Hermione with a newfound look in her eye.

"What?" Hermione queried.

"I saw the way Fred was looking at you!" she whispered excitedly.

"Oh come on! Fred?" This was news to Hermione. It was not something that she had even considered. "Lavender, it's Fred. I don't think he would be looking at me like that."

"You don't _think_ he'd be looking at you like that, but I _know_ he was. Besides that, you heard what he said. Well, what about it?"

"Lavender, I'm not going to go on some hunch that you have about him liking me. Besides, I hardly think he's my type."

"Why not?"

But Lavender did not get her answer because by that stage, Fred and the others had come back with their drinks.

"Here you are," Fred handed her the glass and sat down beside her again, "one Bloody Mary."

"Thanks, Fred," she smiled back and took a sip of the cocktail. "Wow," she said, wrinkling her face ever so slightly. "How much vodka is in this?"

"Is it too strong?" he asked worriedly.

"No no, it's fine. I'll be okay."

"If you want another one, I can get it for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I don't really wish to pick you up off the floor after having one too many," he grinned.

Hermione laughed. "Oh, so it's got nothing to do with you wanting to be a gentleman, has it?"

Fred joined in. "None, whatsoever. So, how about it?"

"Well, alright then, if you're willing to fork out for it."

"Not a problem. I'll be right back."

He got up again from the chair, leaving the two girls alone with the three other boys who were seated on the other side of the table.

She turned towards Lavender, moreso for confirmation about Fred's feelings towards her more than anything. In truth, Hermione was flattered that he would think favourably of her. Not that she had ever considered anything with him but she had always had fun around him and George during stays at the Burrow or at the twin's flat in Grace Lane, off Diagon Alley. For some reason, she knew that her afternoon would be guaranteed to contain excitement and most likely controversy with either twin. She had rarely seen either one of them in a serious mood, except when they were banned from Quidditch during her fifth year.

Lavender only gave her a sly grin that said, 'You know as much as me.'

"But I always thought that he and Angelina Johnson were together."

"I think the fact that he couldn't play Quidditch got in the way. You see, she was off playing Quidditch and even though he chose to open to joke shop, he was still banned from playing Quidditch and found her success a little painful. Actually, it was a mutual decision. Angelina wanted to join the Australian and New Zealand Affiliation of Quidditch as a change from the European league but knew that it would be hard for Fred to uproot his business and move it to Wellington. In the end, it worked out better for both of them because Fred could spend more time inventing new products and she could concentrate on her playing career."

"Hmm. Oh well, I guess that means that you don't always know what's going on with people who you considered close."

"No, not at all."

It was at this point that Fred joined them again.

"Here," he said as he gave the glass to her, "try this one. I told the bartender to only put a half-shot in of the vodka."

Hermione took a sip. 'Mmm," she responded, "this is much better. Thanks for that."

"My pleasure."

"I'm really glad you two were able to make it here," she told him in earnest.

"Thanks, 'Mione," George responded, having decided to join in the conversation. "It's been really hard some weekends. Lately we've had to stock up on a lot of things, especially the Wicked Watches. They've been the hardest things to produce so far."

"Why is that?"

"The thing is," Fred interrupted, eyeing George at the same time, "they needed a programming function to let the wearer know if they have an appointment or not. That was one thing. The other was that we needed to input all the quotes that the watch would spurt out if the wearer was late for anything. It was to be just a little side-project except that we had a few interests in them. So we decided to make it a product of the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes franchise. They are a little more serious than other products but we thought if we can do it, why not?"

"That's a good enough reason. You've nearly explored all areas of jokes and pranks so why not move into more complicated things?"

"That's the attitude we adopted. Sure, we don't have much time on the weekends anymore but that'll change soon when they are all finished and ready to sell."

"Do you still have a lot of work to do this weekend?"

"Yeah."

Hermione was about to respond to this when Dean and Seamus came up behind them. "Hey, sorry to interrupt," Dean cut in. "Seamus and I are going to join the others. We'll see you soon then."

"Yeah, no worries, Mate," George responded.

As soon as they left, Hermione asked the twins, "Why are you here tonight if you have so much work?"

Fred grinned. "Why would we miss this?"

"It's just a birthday."

"It's _not_ just a birthday. You don't turn 21 every year."

"Besides," George added, "we needed some time off. Things have been so hectic lately that neither of us have been able to think of anything else. If truth be told, we needed to get away; otherwise we would have gone mad, I'm sure of it. We also had to organise Bill and Fleur's engagement party. Either way, we had to take today off anyway."

Hermione laughed. "Yes, I heard that it wasn't quite the success as it was meant to be."

"Oh," George rolled his eyes, "you have no idea. All I can say is at least we were born British. I have absolutely no idea how her friends have survived in this world at all with all the complaints that they mentioned. Allergic to Bowtruckles, being vegetarians, not liking dragon meat because it goes straight to their thighs. It was ridiculous!"

Hermione laughed. "Well at least it's all over until the main night, true?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"Except for the big surprise," Fred commented.

"Ah yes, I've heard that this is going to be quite special."

"So special we still don't know what it is yet."

Hermione stared at them. "What?"

"We have some ideas but we don't know for certain what it is. It's going to be good, don't worry."

"Just remember, you have a little under three weeks to get it done."

"Yeah, we know."

Hermione felt a little bad that it was just her talking to the Weasleys and not Lavender, however after glancing at her to see what she made of the situation, she was greeted with a knowing smile and a wink of her eye.

"So how are you going in your work at St Mungo's, anyway?" George asked.

"Well, lately I've been helping out in the emergency ward. It's been very insightful. They don't normally put fourth years in the emergency ward. They usually prefer that they have a bit of experience in some of the other wards first. However, the head mediwizard believes that I've exceeded in some of the tests that final years go through, and he gave me the opportunity to improve that knowledge tenfold."

"Wow, that's really good. I'm glad to see you move up in the medical world, Hermione. You certainly deserve it." Fred commented, lifting his beer up to toast her. "Cheers."

"Cheers." She clinked her glass with his, still a little shocked at his last words. Fred didn't usually talk so earnestly to her. He and George were usually caught up with their shop or the latest pranks that someone performed on someone else that it wasn't often that he (or George for that matter) was very serious.

"Hey Mate, I'm off to join the others," George announced. "Coming over?"

"Not yet," Fred answered. "I've still got half a bottle."

"Suit yourself. Hey Lavender," he called to her across Hermione. "Care to join me?"

"Yeah, I will actually," she responded excitedly, eyeing Hermione as she did so.

"Nice. Alright, you guys coming later?"

"Perhaps," Hermione answered, smiling a little from the knowledge at what both George and Lavender were doing.

Soon it was just Fred and Hermione sitting at the table. Things were a little awkward to begin with, but the ice was soon broken by Fred.

"Hermione, I think you know what just happened there as much as what I do."

She looked at him curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, Lavender has been giving me funny looks the entire time that I've been sitting here. Now she's ducked off with George, leaving me here with you. I think you're smart enough to put two and two together." He smiled at her.

She laughed and shook her head. "I figured as much. But Fred, I don't know about that. I think it would seem a little weird, don't you? I mean, you're Ron's older brother."

"I know. I only just figured that out myself. A bit of a shock really." He laughed.

"Hey!" she grinned and play punched him. "I'm being serious."

His mood changed a little and he became more serious. "I know. Look, to be truthful, I felt the same when George first mentioned it."

"If you felt the same, then why are we here?"

Fred hesitated a little before answering. "The thing is; I guess I've mentioned your name a little more than usual during the last couple of weeks."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah well I mean, firstly it was as someone whose expertise we could have used in the making of the watches. I know you're a mediwitch-in-training, but I still thought that your knowledge of Muggle technology as well as your general charms work would have helped us out."

Hermione was flattered. "You honestly considered getting me on board the famous Weasley franchise?"

"Yep, you were the smartest witch at Hogwarts; there's no denying it."

"Yes but how do you know you could have afforded my services?" She grinned cheekily.

He chuckled. "Oh, we would have been able to, don't you worry about that. If a lifetime of cream puffs didn't tempt you –" Hermione laughed at this, "Hey, they are very good. Anyway, if they didn't tempt you, then perhaps a sum of 5000 Galleons would. And if it took longer than expected, an additional 1000 Galleons for each week that you are away from the hospital."

Hermione was dumbfounded. Fred and George had considered paying her that amount of money for a week's work? This was absolutely beyond her.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm quite serious."

"Then why didn't you?"

"We really didn't want to interfere with your studies. We knew how important they were to you so it seemed wrong to interrupt them."

"I'm sure they would have given me a week off; I haven't had any days off, except for Thursday."

"Well, there was another reason for it."

Hermione had the sense that this reason was the very reason that they were sitting at the table alone.

"Which is?"

"The very reason why I'm here tonight. Hermione, I didn't think it was a good idea either, for the same reason that you cited. But then the more I thought about getting your help for the watches, the more I thought about you. I mean, just about you."

He looked very seriously at her. Funnily enough, Hermione had already thought that her Weasley days would be over; now another one was asking her out.

She only nodded in wonder. Fred continued.

"It was then that I thought it would be more ideal to simply make the watches alone with George."

She sat silence for a little bit, pondering this last comment. The thing was, Fred was 23, not far off 24 and was far more mature than Ron during their sixth year. Fred was a man, albeit a young one, but still a man. He didn't push her for a response. Instead, he simply looked at her patiently, swigging his beer every few seconds.

He needed an answer; however Hermione was not sure she could provide a very good one.

"Wow Fred, I really don't know what to say."

"Look, Hermione, it's okay if you don't feel the same. I just thought that perhaps you needed to know why we were suddenly left alone." He smiled at her.

"I really appreciate it, Fred," she responded earnestly. "It's still a bit of a strange concept but only because I wasn't expecting it before I came out tonight."

"I'm not worried, really. George really pushed for me to do something about it. He said if I don't ask, then I'm not going to know."

"Seize the day, right?"

He laughed. "Something like that." He took another mouthful of beer. "So, no love lost?"

It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "No, not at all. As I said before, I appreciate it. I'm also pleased that you think highly of my skills in magic. That means so much in itself."

"Well, perhaps we can call upon you if we need your help later on then?"

"For sure. Please don't hesitate; I'll make time for it."

"Great." Fred raised the bottle to his lips for the last time and drained it, leaving only the dregs at the bottom. "Well," he said, putting the bottle on the table, "shall we join the others?"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, why not?"

She finished the rest of her cocktail and they went to out onto the dancefloor.

The next couple of hours passed with all of them dancing to the Muggle dance tunes. It had certainly been a fun night with her friends. Hermione could not think of a time where she had more fun, aside from Thursday. And the talk with Fred was certainly a surprise, although not unpleasant by any means; just a little queer.

Every now and then, she caught his eye, and they'd both laugh and carry on dancing. Lavender nudged Hermione at one point as if to say, 'So?' but Hermione only shrugged her shoulders in response.

At 2:30am, it was time to leave. Not that the club was closing but Hermione felt as if she had had enough. She didn't want to wake up feeling horrible from a hangover and lack of sleep. The hangover that she was sure to wake up with would be bad enough. Outside the club, she said goodbye to Dean, then Harry and Ginny.

"Do I want to know what you and Fred were talking about?" Ginny whispered to Hermione.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. See you both later."

Harry hugged her and said, "Bye, 'Mione."

Then Seamus and Lavender were going to go.

"What happened?" Lavender asked quietly.

"Nothing. I'll have to catch up with you another time. Bye."

"Yeah, bye."

They then disapparated, leaving only the twins and Hermione standing outside.

"Hey Fred," George said. "Early start tomorrow, don't get home too late! See ya Hermione!" he grinned mischievously.

As soon as George disapparated, Fred shook his head.

"I'm sorry about that," he told Hermione. "I would have thought he'd act a bit better than that."

"It's fine, seriously. No love lost, remember?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I remember."

They stood quiet for a small moment, both unable to make the next move. Just as Hermione was about to break the silence, Fred bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek, allowing her to take in his expensive-smelling Wizard cologne. When he pulled away, he gave another smile and turned to walk off.

He turned his head back to her at the last minute and said, "Goodnight, Hermione."

She smiled in return. "Goodnight, Fred."

As they both went their separate ways, Hermione felt ten times lighter than she had before the night started, despite drinking three cocktails and dancing until she couldn't dance any longer.

* * *

**Comments:**

_"Don't worry, I'll teach him a thing or two about dancing," Ginny winked. "By-eee!"_ - "Of course you know the Darcy's darling! And you remember their son, Mark, the human-rights barrister. Anyway, I must go. By-eee!" I love Bridget Jones!

"Checking out the talent" – doesn't mean seeing how good people are at dancing in this context. Instead, it's another phrase for perving on the opposite sex.

Australian and New Zealand Affiliation of Quidditch, or ANZAQ as its acronym – a slight variation on ANZAC, which of course means Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Pronounced the same, however. I only did this 'cos I thought it would sound cool and not out of poor taste at all. The Aussie and New Zealand readers will automatically know what this acronym symbolises but for the others, I will explain. This was the name given to the soldiers who fought in World War I, more notably, the Diggers at Gallipoli, Turkey. Anzac Day is remembered on 25th April because that was the date that the Anzacs landed at Gallipoli. The Gallipoli landing was in fact a disaster due to the strong Turkish forces that were waiting for them and all remaining soldiers had to be shifted out of there before they were all killed. Amazingly, due to the ingenuity of the ANZACs, this was done without a life lost. ANZAC day is a very important day in the lives of Australians and to commemorate it, dawn services around the country are held, where 'The Last Post' is played on bugle and returned soldiers go to remember lost comrades, or family go to remember lost relatives. They are very moving ceremonies for everyone in attendance.

It will be a while before I can update. I need to write more of the story - as I mentioned above, this is the last chapter that I have written. So please bear with me; I will get around to it at some point. See y'all and thank you for all being faithful to it! By-eee!


	9. 23rd September 2001, 7:34pm

Hey all! Can you believe that I'm actually updating La Malfoi Inconnue! I know I can't but I was so happy that I managed to find a storyline cos I admit, I suffered a bit of writer's block when I first wrote this. But hey, I have a few chapters to go up and so I will see how I go from there.

So, I apologise for the extreme lateness of this installment, as I'm sure that a lot of you wrote this off as one of those "unfinished" stories.

Well, I'll show those! Muhahaha! Anyway, hope it keeps going. At least it will for a while anyway.

**Comments:**

**Macey Muse** Ah yes, I think HBP certainly brought forth the argument that Fleur was stuck-up. Hopefully I can make it believeable but I think that the twins will eventually mature, although Fred has matured probably a bit quicker than George, in my story anyway, woops! Gave a bit away there... ;-)

**filthylittlemudblood** Haha, that's awesome! I like hearing that, I can't deny it. I'm glad it sounds alright, I really hope it continues to flow well. I think I might have had a couple of continuity problems but hopefully I've sorted them out okay or explained them away. It had started writing bits and it was easier to keep them that way and explain my way out than to rewrite the whole thing cos it was too hard to come up with an alternative.

**KellyRiddle88**Vous lisez cette histoire aussi! Awesome! God, can't think of any French atm, will have to settle for English. Hope you enjoy this one.. ;-)

Well folks, onto the next installment...**_

* * *

_**

**_23rd September, 2001_**

_**7:34pm**_

The next couple of days flew for Hermione surprisingly, given that she had had a lot on her mind. One minute she was almost kissing Fred Weasley, the next minute she was onto her latest batch of cough potion in the St Mungo's laboratories. There had been a decrease in emergencies over the last couple of days and so Hermione had taken up position in the labs again, building on her experience at making potions for the patients.

Cough potion was not significantly difficult however it did require a fair bit of patience to make. It was one of those evenings that she had to stay back, since she could not leave the process half way through. So it was with some shock that she received a knock on the lab door at such an hour.

The person standing at the door did not hesitate in coming in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your brewing Hermione," the agitated witch now standing in front of her said, "but it seems that there is some sort of emergency going on at one of the upstairs wings. I wouldn't have come down to tell you except that we have been short staffed all day and so we needed your assistance."

Hermione sighed but responded with a quick, "I'll be right up there."

Putting all her things away and carrying the medicinal potions to a safe place in the lab, Hermione hurried up after the witch to the ward upstairs.

It turned out that it was the psychiatric ward that required her help. There was a problem with one of the patients who managed to lock a warden up in the cupboard in the patient's room; how, it was not known given that he should have been unarmed and restrained with bindings around his arms and legs. He was one of the more secure wizards in the ward, considering his past as a formidable and highly powerful Auror. Yes, the man in question was Frank Longbottom.

"Oh dear," Hermione muttered. "I'm sure he would be humiliated if he was aware of what he had just done."

"We can't worry about that now," the witch said beside her. "We just need to put him back into his room."

Putting an ex-Auror back into his room proved to be far more difficult than first perceived. Frank Longbottom may not have remembered anything about what landed him in St Mungo's but there was no doubt that he did not lose his courage nor his ability to fight. It took all who were on duty to restrain him and even then, they did not feel like they had handled it easily.

At last, one of the nurses managed to land a Stunning Spell on his chest and caused Frank to keel over.

"Wow," said a quite relieved and youngish medi-wizard called Hugo. He reminded Hermione of a young Sirius Black; dark hair cropped fairly close to his scalp, blue eyes and a medium-sized build. "That Longbottom must have been a brilliant Auror in his time."

"Forgive my rudeness here," she interjected. "But how old were you during the last war?"

"I was 10. Not quite started at Hogwarts but still thought that I knew everything." He laughed.

"Really? So how was it that you knew about his past?"

"My father was a medi-wizard before me. He had to treat quite a few of the Death Eaters before they were sent to Azkaban. Let's just say that Frank was very capable with disarming spells and other curses."

Hermione's knowledge of the first war was minimal but she knew enough about it to help out with the latest war. "But I thought that they tried not to use many curses against people?"

"They never used them unless they had to. However, when your opponent has just landed a beautifully timed Derespiration curse at you, all you can manage to do is point your wand at him/her and perform a silent counter-attack. The best one for situations like that was always the Dignedépée curse. The curse only required a whip-like flick of the wrist and a strong will for it to have done damage to the attacker and the result was usually lacerations to wherever it was aimed at. Never deadly but worthy of putting your attacker out of action."

"I never knew that. My God, all of this happened before I even realised that there was another world out there. How funny is that?"

"It's strange to think about. I often heard stories of what sort of things the Death Eaters did but I was pretty much kept in the dark. My parents wanted me to feel that I was safe, even though they dealt with the horrors of it every day."

Hermione shook her head. "I can't believe he's been like this for 20 years. I wonder how he actually feels, if he does at all?"

"I couldn't tell you," Hugo responded. "Once your mind has put something out of its thoughts completely, it's very difficult to bring it back and everything that they once knew is gone."

"That's so sad." Hermione could feel tears well into her eyes and had to make a hasty attempt to hide them.

"I know. But we can only be thankful that because of him and those like him, we were able to fend off the strong attacks. Without them, we may not have been able to defend ourselves this time around."

A moment passed between where the only noise was the gentle hum of the wards around them. The mood was only broken when Hermione looked at her watch. _9:20pm. My God, that took a lot longer than expected._

"Hugo," she said. "It's nearly nine-thirty. I think we can probably leave now. The wards have been taken care of and I think that the night watchmen and women are here."

"Shit, you're right," he responded after looking at his own watch. "I told Victoria that I wouldn't be home late. I bet she'll think I'm having an affair. That's the third time in two weeks I've had to stay back late."

Hermione laughed. "I'm sure she doesn't. Surely she must know that sometimes you'll be bound to work back in this profession."

He smiled. "Yeah I know, but I still feel bad. Poor girl will have to hear of the same type of excuse again. She must be getting sick of it."

"Did you want me to have a chat to her?" Hermione offered.

"No! Fuck no, don't do that. That'll just confirm it in her eyes that I am. I'll just have to bite the end of the wand and face up to her."

"Alright then. Well, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, you too."

Hugo left just ahead of Hermione and out of the building. She saw him disapparate from an empty alleyway near to the hospital so that she was left standing in silence. Not wanting to spend a minute longer from her warm flat, she walked into the same alleyway and disapparated.

* * *

**Comments:**

"Dignedépée" curse – worthy of a sword, literal meaning in French. Executed properly and it works just as effectively as a sword and leaves your opponent in a very bad way.

And hopefully I will update the next installment ina couple ofdays.

See y'all!


	10. 23rd September, 2001, 9:37pm

I told you all I would get around to writing more and now here is two chapters:-) Yay! Anyway, onto whatever is at hand... Thanks to those who reviewed, I hope that this follows on nicely. Cheers!

**_

* * *

23rd September, 2001_**

_**9:37pm**_

Hermione reached her flat just to hear her phone ringing. She couldn't always justify the expenditure on the telephone when the only times she used it were when her parents rung or she needed to contact the Muggle take away shops up the road. But she had to admit, it did have its merits.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Oh, hi love," her mother's voice could be heard.

"Hi Mum, you were lucky. I just got back home."

"I knew you were still out. I tried calling before."

_Shit._

"Oh, sorry. I was held back at the hospital because they were short-staffed in the Psychological Ward. A patient managed to lock a warden into his own room and it took some time to restrain him."

"That's such a shame to see that happen. I give credit to those who work in that field. There is absolutely no way that I would be able to work like that."

"No, me neither."

Hermione knew that the reason for her mother calling would come in due time; it usually did after a couple of minutes. It was just that she was quite hungry and knew that she would have to order take away for the second time in the week and she was starting to become slightly agitated.

"Anyway, I know you must be feeling tired so I won't keep you. I just thought that I would see how you were feeling after your birthday. I know it must have been quite a shock for you to hear that news."

This was not what Hermione was expecting. Yes, it had been hard for her but she knew it had been hard for Jane as well. For that reason, she had not spoken about Narcissa with her at all.

"Yes, it was. But what about you, Mum? How do you feel about this?"

Jane sighed. "It was only a matter of time before this was going to happen. I knew it was to come but I suppose I still dreaded the day. It isn't possible to plan for something like this."

"I can see it from your point of view. If it's any consolation, I had always thought that she was mean-spirited and that Draco took after her."

Jane laughed. "I don't think your father would appreciate you saying that. He told me a lot about her and I can't say that I agree completely with you. I wondered if it was a bit selfish of her to keep you, as bad as that sounds but I guess she's made sure that she was involved in your upbringing, even if she wasn't physically there."

"That's the part I'm still finding hard to believe. I can't understand how on earth she could still maintain an interest in me when her other child despised me?"

"Hermione, when you have your own children, you'll understand. I bet it broke her heart to see that happen. She would have loved to tell Draco the truth but I bet she knew that he would disown her if he knew it. I can't promise that he would change his mind about it either."

"I know. I know he didn't follow in Lucius' footsteps but I think it was only because he didn't want to be servant to someone else. He hasn't changed a great deal since school although I did hear that he's bought a couple of the old run-down shops in Diagon Alley and going to turn them into terrace flats. Maybe he has changed. The last time I saw him was a couple of years ago in the Leaky Cauldron. He was drinking by himself in a corner. If it was anyone else, I would have felt sorry for him."

"You do realise that you're talking about your half-brother here."

"Mum, don't remind me! I'm still getting used to the idea that Narcissa is my mother, let alone Draco being any kind of relation to me."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Jane paused, making Hermione think that the line had dropped out. "I guess what I was finally going to ask was, have you thought about what you want to do?"

Hermione hesitated, still not entirely sure whether her decision was final or not. "I can't be 100 but I thought that I may as well meet her. At least to see her reaction to me as her daughter and not her son's worst enemy's best friend."

"I'm honestly glad you said that. I think you would have regretted it if you said no. I'm aware that you haven't made a final decision but if you do go ahead with it, you will probably learn a few things."

"It's just so scary."

"You won't have to go through it alone, just remember that."

"You'd come with me?"

"Well," Jane spoke slowly. "I don't think it's in my place to unless Narcissa specified that I could. I think it would be more appropriate for you to meet her alone."

"Just so long as I can talk to you straight afterwards."

"Of course. You can talk to me any time you want."

"Thanks, Mum. I really appreciate your support in all of this. I hope Dad feels alright about it as well."

"It's hard on him too. I know how he felt about her. To be truthful, I think it's actually probably been the hardest on him. Think about it; when you run into an ex-boyfriend, how do you feel?"

Hermione's social life wasn't exactly bustling but she had had a couple of boyfriends since leaving Hogwarts. One was a Swedish exchange student from the Löwikschule der Magie in Germany. The only reason for their splitting up was because he needed to go back to Sweden and it proved far too difficult to keep the relationship going. They parted on good terms and still kept in touch every now and then. The other was someone who she had met on a tour of Wales after her first year as an apprentice medi-witch. He was a Muggle to start off with and she knew that it was only a matter of time before she would have to tell him the truth about her identity. She cared for him deeply but when the time came, he found it quite hard to take and asked if they could spend some time apart.

If she happened to run into Sean, she knew that she would feel quite odd to be around him. It seemed that the feelings she had for him had not dissipated as much as she first thought.

"It would be strange."

"Spare a thought for your father when you get a chance."

"Funny that you're saying that because that was exactly what he said to me about you."

Jane laughed. "Well, maybe spare a thought for both of us and then you'll be right."

"I will Mum."

"That's good. I better go because you need to eat and get an early night if you're working tomorrow."

"It's alright Mum, I'll be fine."

"I know but I still worry. I am your mother, or at least one of them."

"You are my mother, that won't change."

"I appreciate that. Well, I'll talk to you later then."

"Alright, goodnight Mum."

"Goodnight, Hermione."

After putting the phone back in the receiver, Hermione only stared at it for a few seconds. She was forced to confront the problem that she had been trying to force to the back of her mind up until that day. Moreso, it was something that had proven to be life-changing and for that reason, she did not want to have to deal with it. She couldn't quite understand why this was the case but it was only when Jane mentioned it on the phone just then, she realised that she had been running from it.

She sighed. She was going to have to make a formal decision pretty quickly. She knew that Narcissa would be patient but she had already spent a week thinking about it. The longer she left it, the more she was likely to put it off.

It wasn't as if she hadn't already made up her mind about it either. It was just that she knew that once she made the decision, she would have to stick with it and for that reason, it was a matter of nerves more than anything.

_I know what I'm going to do so I will just have to put it into motion. But I'll do it after I eat._

Hermione picked the phone up and dialled the Chinese Take-Away shop. After waiting for 15 minutes, her food was delivered on her flat doorstep and she paid the delivery boy and returned to her small kitchen table. Her flat wasn't by any means large but she found it quite cosy and it suited someone like her perfectly. There were four rooms to the flat; a large kitchen/meals area, a small living room, a small bathroom and a good-sized bedroom. It was found in Muggle London, not far from the Leaky Cauldron but in the heart of the city. Convenient for both worlds' as she had thought. She had decided to move out of home at the start of last year but returned every now and then to stay a night or two, her 21st birthday being one of those occasions.

She was just in the middle of eating her food when Ginny's head appeared in her fireplace.

"Hermione, you did not tell me that Fred was eyeing you off the other night!" she didn't even wait for Hermione to respond.

"Holy Shit!" Hermione swung around the face Ginny, one hand on her heart to steady its beat. "You frightened the absolute death out of me!"

Ginny's face contained a mixture of annoyance, agitation and ecstasy. "When did that happen?"

"While you were all dancing. Surely you knew something about it. You even asked me the other day why they were mentioning my name."

"I didn't think it had anything to do with asking you out!"

"So how did you find out then?"

"We had dinner at Mum and Dad's tonight and bloody George asked if Fred took long saying goodbye to you the other night. In response, Fred said nothing but asked me to pass the peas."

Hermione laughed. "Come over if you want," Hermione instructed. "There's some Chinese food here if you're hungry."

"Thanks but I'm watching my weight. I'll still come over though."

"Watching your weight? Since when?"

"Since you've been so good at stringing along." Ginny laughed as she stepped through the fireplace.

"Oh, fuck off." Hermione glared but couldn't keep much a straight face when Ginny just kept laughing.

"For Christ's sake," Ginny said after she composed herself and sat down on one of the other kitchen chairs. "We're talking about me here. I'm just bloody lucky that my job is so physically demanding. If I wasn't outside running around all day, I'd be as big as the squid at Hogwarts."

"I thought there was some hot-shot bloke somewhere at the Auror's office that you were trying to impress."

"Well, there's that too but no, that's not reason enough to start watching what I eat."

"You aren't bullshitting me again, are you?"

"Kind of, but I won't deny it; there's this new bloke there that came over from Ireland and my God, if he isn't gorgeous!"

"And what about Harry?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that. What, I can't say when there's a good-looking guy in my office?"

"Fair enough. I just saw one of the St. Mungo's Psychological Ward's male nurses. If he wasn't hot, then I don't know who is."

"What's his name?"

"Hugo, however he does have a girlfriend. By the sounds of things they are pretty close."

"Is he nice?"

"He's alright. I didn't really get to talk to him for any great length of time. He seemed okay though."

"But he is taken. Besides which," Ginny smiled. "You haven't told me about Fred yet."

Hermione grinned, remembering back to last Saturday night and what Fred had said to her. "No, I haven't, have I?"

Ginny leant closer. "So, what happened?"

"Well, the two of them had thrown up the idea to get me to help them with one of their creations, according to Fred."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You can't tell me that that was the only reason why they were talking to you. I never before saw you once at their shop helping them out so spit it out, Granger. He must have said something else to you."

"Oh alright. He said that he thinks he may have mentioned my name a few too many times and George picked up on it. That's why they didn't end up asking me to give them a hand, as well as the fact that I was getting a bit busy with work."

Ginny hooted. "I knew it! I knew he had something for you! It was written all over his bloody face when I asked him if he wanted to come out with us for your birthday. I asked him a few weeks beforehand and he gave me only one word answers. When I asked him about it again the weekend before last, he grudgingly said yes but went bright red afterwards. I've never seen either of them embarrassed so it was pretty obvious why."

This was news. "He was embarrassed?"

"Well, not so much embarrassed but I guess possibly a bit shy. Bloody unusual for Fred."

"I'll say. Hmm," Hermione thought for a moment. "He's not usually the sort of person to carelessly jump at opportunities, is he?"

"I would say no."

"So it's not like this has only been something he's thought of in the last couple of weeks."

"Most likely not."

"Hmm."

Hermione went quiet for a second. Fred did say he mentioned her name a few too many times and that he thought it was best to leave her out of their franchise for that reason but could he possibly have been quite serious? He did well to cover it up the other night, if he was completely serious.

"You alright?" Ginny asked, slightly worried.

"Yeah I am. It's been an absolutely weird week, put it that way. I don't think I could have planned it any differently."

"I can see where you're coming from. Having a Malfoy as a mother, and now your ex-boyfriend's older brother fancying you. I'll tell you something, when I found out about Fred, I did my best to let him know I knew."

"Oh, you didn't!"

"No, not really but since I wasn't able to get hold of you for a bit, I thought I'd talk to him."

"When did you try to Floo?"

"About two hours ago. You didn't stay back and shag this new nurse, did you?" Ginny laughed.

"Ginny! If you must know, Frank Longbottom escaped from his ward and locked a warden in his cell."

Ginny's face fell. "Oh no, I hope Neville doesn't find out. I bet he was a handful, too."

"He was. It took five of us to restrain him. Poor guy, it's got to be hard to not be able to understand what he's doing there."

"Hmm. I guess that's why we have professionals like you working in the field to understand these things."

"I'm hardly professional."

"You may as well be. You're already helping out with the emergency ward, it won't be long before you're actually being in charge of the whole thing."

"I hope so, but it will still be a little while yet. So getting back to it, what did you ask Fred?"

"What he told you. It's funny just how much those two have matured. I never thought that they would, especially now, running their own joke shop."

"Yeah, it's strange. But I guess some people do. They probably spend so much time around it that they need a bit of normality in their lives. I think I would."

"True." Ginny sat more upright. "Hey look, I know you already spent a bit of time with Ron but I never quite thought that you two suited. I saw how often you fought, even before you got together and whilst some could put it down to some sure-fire sexual tension, not that I particularly want to think about it, I really wondered just how well you would actually get along as a couple."

Hermione was pretty shocked. "Really?"

"Yeah. Can I say something?"

"Ginny, you're my best friend. Why would you not be able to?"

"Because I love all my brothers a lot and I love my friends just as much. I know that Fred likes you, as you do too. I don't know how you feel about him, but I know that you are friends with him. If you ever did decide to do anything about that, you have my full support. I just want to let you know that despite his usual character, he cares a great deal about those he holds close and will be loyal to them. I know he was close to Angelina and he was pretty shattered that they had to finish, despite his outward appearance. He didn't realise that I knew how he truly felt because I'm positive that he'd kill me if I said anything to him about it. I guess I just don't want to see either one of you get hurt."

Hermione was dumbfounded for a moment. This was more information about Fred than she had previously known and wasn't quite sure how to take it. She had heard from Lavender that he felt a bit strange with Angelina still playing Quidditch and he wasn't. They had been together for a few years and so it surely had to have taken its toll on him. And yes, it was clear that he felt more than friendship for her. The question was; how did she feel?

"I'm not sure what I feel for him."

Ginny grinned, leaving Hermione utterly confused.

"Why don't you have a think about it?" Ginny suggested. "I know you have a lot on your plate at the moment."

"That's probably not a bad idea but I don't have so much on my plate at the moment."

Ginny's face lit up. "Does that mean you've come up with a formal decision about Narcissa?"

"Yes, it's does."

"And that is…"

"I'm going to meet her."

"That's so good, although I already knew that."

"You may as well have not asked then."

"But I needed to know for sure; it isn't always good to go off suspicions."

"True. Hey Gin, you haven't told Harry or Ron, have you?"

"God no. Don't worry; it's not my place to tell them. I really don't think I could have managed it anyway without it sounded like complete and utter gossip."

"Thanks, I really mean it. I'll tell them but I think it can wait for the time being."

"I agree. So have you responded yet?"

"I was actually going to write the letter to her after I finished although I won't have time now."

Ginny looked aghast. "God, sorry! I've come and bombarded you with questions about Fred!"

"No, don't worry about it. Really, I'm glad you know about that now."

"Do you know when this meeting's going to happen?"

"Maybe next week. I'd rather it sooner than later."

"Good move. Next weekend is probably much easier, anyway. No work to worry about and no trying to be home early."

"I agree. If it's Saturday, then I can use Sunday to either recover or think about the next time I meet her."

"That's great. I really hope it all goes well for you."

"Thanks Gin. I hope so too."

"Perhaps I should go. I've got an early start tomorrow; 6:30 at the office."

"Oh yuck! I hate early starts. I mean, 8am but 6:30? Not a chance."

"I know, tell me about it but the good thing is, I get to leave at 2."

"That still doesn't justify getting up at 5."

"I'm trying hard not to think about that, thank you very much."

Hermione laughed. "It happens, get over it."

"Well, fuck off yourself then."

"Back at you, Gin. See you later."

"See ya."

Ginny walked towards the fireplace. Hermione's thoughts were still reeling about the letter that she still needed to write as well as this new revelation about Fred. Before she let Ginny go through the flames completely, Hermione called her.

"Ginny?"

"What?"

"Were you pissed off to find out that Fred liked me?"

Ginny grinned. "Not really. I thought it slightly strange but it didn't bother me. Why?"

"Because I just wondered what you thought."

"Truthfully, it was only strange to me because I had thought it was something only_ I_ thought might happen."

_Hang on a minute._ "What?"

"I just thought that Fred was more laid back about things than Ron. I'm not sure if I was absolutely serious about it, but the thought did pass often enough when you were going out with Ron."

"So you didn't envisage it happening then?"

"Well, I don't know if you would say that. Would it be better if I said that I'm not entirely surprised that Fred started to feel something for you?"

"Probably, but is it true?"

Ginny grinned. "It is, actually."

Hermione smiled. "Okay then."

Ginny paused for a second. "I know he's my brother and I'm going to be biased but he's a completely different person away from everyone."

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, I gathered that. I don't think I've really ever spent any time alone with him so it wasn't something I had ever really thought. I see what you mean though."

"That's good. And I'll still speak to you whatever you think on the topic."

"Well that's always a bonus."

"Well, talk to you later?"

"Yeah, I'll give you a call later in the week."

"This is almost later in the week."

"You know what I mean!"

"True. Okay, by-eee!"

Ginny went back through the fireplace just as Hermione uttered 'goodbye' and she disappeared. Looking at her watch, she discovered that it was nearly 11:30.

_Well_, she thought. _I guess that letter will have to wait until tomorrow._

She packed up the quill and parchment, went off to the bathroom to clean herself up and went to bed.

* * *

**Comments:**

What is there to say? Not a great deal so will keep it short. Hope I can write more on this shortly. Funnily enough, I won't be doing so during the day - it's summer and too annoying to stay inside on good days! I get headaches as well but at 11:30 at night is when I seem to do my best work... ;-) Anyway, better toddle along and simply upload this installment. Adios!


	11. 2nd October, 2001, 11:10am

Hey all, long time no speak. Was able to write more on this, well, at least finish off the next installment (I'm about three in front, or at least two anyway) so I can upload this one.

Anything else to say? Dunno really cos I answered queries via the reply email thinggy on this site. Ah well, any other questions don't hesitate to review... I'll answer them as best I can.

See y'all!

**_

* * *

2nd October, 2001_**

_**11:10am**_

It seemed that the letter that Hermione wanted to write a week after she found out that she was Narcissa Malfoy's daughter had to wait a further week than she intended. After having to deal with Ginny about her brother, the laboratories were full of researchers trying to finish off their brews; Hermione being one of them. The cough potion that she had been brewing the day that she was called upstairs had unfortunately failed and so she had had to stay back late each night and one day on the weekend, ensuring that she had complete and utter silence from anyone else who wasn't a direct lab colleague. This, she was granted after a memo was put around that no one was to disturb the laboratories during the next two weeks as there was pressing work that needed to be done.

Given that she had been working flat out on the potion, she was granted permission to leave early when she handed in her finished product to her supervisor on Thursday.

"Take tomorrow off as well," he had told her, "because you've worked harder than anyone here during this time. If you have anything you need to do at home, use the next few days to do it. Oh and on Monday, you'll be back up in the emergency ward. They have called for your help again."

"Oh okay. Thanks for that."

And so it was because of this that Hermione had been able to sit down and write her letter to Narcissa. Or at least that was the plan.

After she had got home on Thursday, she felt like doing nothing except sit on the couch reading some pretty easy chick lit. Later, she called Ginny around to fill her in on the week's activities and decided that they would go out on Saturday night for a bit of a break. They spent a very lazy one sitting on the couch and eating popcorn and Coke.

The next day, Hermione had booted Ginny out (or Ginny booted herself out, one of the two) and decided that it was now or never to write her letter to Narcissa.

_Okay, no distractions, no nothing, I'm going to get this letter done._

She got all of her things out to write the letter when the phone rang.

_Fuck off!_

"Hermione," it was her father. _Woops, better take that back._ "Sorry, I haven't heard from you in a while. How are you?"

"Fine, Dad."

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner with your mother and me tonight. Give you a chance not to have to cook for yourself."

"I'd love to. What time?"

"Around 6:30 will be fine. If you want to bring someone, just let us know beforehand."

"Thanks, Dad. I don't think there will be but thanks for the offer."

"Alright, you sound slightly rushed so I'll let you go."

"I kind of am, so I better go."

"Bye Sweetie."

The last time Hermione had been called 'Sweetie' by her father was long enough to have thought that it wasn't ever going to happen again.

""Sweetie? Dad you haven't called me that in years."

"I know, it just kind of slipped out."

"Obviously. I really am sorry but I have to go."

"Bye then."

"Bye."

Hermione hung the phone up and walked back over to the table where she had set up her parchment and quill. She tried to get into the mindset for writing but her thoughts were still with her father calling her Sweetie. She had a good suspicion that he said it because of what happened over the last couple of weeks.

_God, I have to get this letter done._

She sat down and pushed all thoughts of her father and Fred Weasley and anyone else that might disturb her thinking process into the back of her mind and thought about how to respond to the letter.

It took her over three hours and a couple of interruptions (no thanks to Harry with a concern about a pimple – "Harry, couldn't this have waited?" "Not really, it's a fair emergency." "What bloody emergency? It's a pimple for Christ's sake!" She felt that she couldn't really tell him to piss off because she was writing a letter to her real mother who happened to be Narcissa Malfoy) but she finally got her letter written.

It read:

_Narcissa,_

_Well, your letter was certainly a shock to the system. I had always known that Jane was not my real mother but I never knew the identity of who that person was, as you well know. I must say that even to have received a letter from yourself was a surprise but the nature for your writing was something that I simply could not believe at first. I really didn't know how to take it and to be truthful, I still think that it could all possibly have been a dream and that I never received that letter. However, I am looking at said letter as I write this and so I cannot deny that it occurred._

_Dad filled me in that night as to how it all began. I don't think I need to go into what was said because I'm sure that you would have known everything. He told me that you know a lot more about me than I would think. That's a little scary given our past but I guess you do have a right to. He also informed me that you had quite a hand in bringing me up, despite not actually being there physically. I can't say that I believe that wholly but I hope you don't hold that against me; it's quite hard to believe that when I didn't hear one word about you from either you or Dad. That I hope will change once I get a chance to meet you._

_Ah yes, the reason for my writing. I believe that if I said no to meeting you, that would be rather unfair on yourself. That is denying you a chance to explain in your words what happened all those years ago and in the years since. I do want to hear your side because it's the right thing to do for both you, my father and myself._

_I'm not so sure what else to write in this letter that I cannot wait until I meet you face to face so in the meantime, I will let you decide on where to meet. I only ask you that we make the meeting a Saturday, preferably next weekend (not tomorrow as I don't think that Gretchen will be able to make it to you by then) because due to work, I am quite busy during the week and I cannot guarantee that my weeknights will be free. I hope that this isn't too soon and that you are free on that day. If not, we can always make it the Sunday or the following weekend._

_I apologise for the lateness of this response but in my defence, I took quite a few days to decide and then when I finally did decide, work piled up at a really inopportune moment._

_You are able to send a response back with Gretchen if you wish and don't feel you need to respond straight away; she is very keen for assignments and I haven't been able to provide her with many._

_Sincerely,_

_Hermione Granger._

Going over it, Hermione only hoped that it sounded alright. It wasn't exactly the easiest letter that she'd written but at least she couldn't say that it was a complete lie. She'd told Narcissa the truth; things had been hard for her to take but hopefully that would change in meeting her. Given that her previous three attempts had all started out accusing Narcissa of not being there for her when she knew in reality that that was not true, she thought that this last attempt was rather good.

She called over Gretchen, her little owl and tied the letter to her leg.

"I'm really sorry that it's taken me this long to give you a decent job," she said to the owl, who was hooting excitedly at finally being given something to do. "I hope you'll forgive me as I'm sure you'll get to do quite a few errands in the next week or so. When you come back, there'll be some more owl treats waiting. How's that?" She scratched Gretchen on the head and went to let her outside.

Gretchen hooted in response and flew off. Sighing, Hermione went to the fridge and opened it up. Upon seeing the bare contents, she decided that she really should go off and do some shopping.

She left the flat and wandered down the street to the little supermarket on the corner of the block.

* * *

**Comments:**

Might take me a bit to upload the next bit of this; there is about two that I can upload but after that, I haven't written any more! But the second part is really long - I'm guessing it's up over 20 pages but it couldn't be cut back. So some installments are long, others are short.

Even tho they are longer, I'm pretty sure it won't deter from people reading. Least I hope not... ;-)


	12. 2nd October, 2001, 5:29pm

Damn line is at it again, or rather, not.****Anyway, was inspired to update this as well - so even though it's only a short installment, I hope it satisfies. The next is massive - to the point that I haven't actually finished writing it yet. Shouldn't take long, however, just need to.

Won't prolong it any more; thanks all who reviewed:-)

****

**_2nd October, 2001_**

_**5:29pm**_

Upon returning to her flat, Hermione dumped all of the things into the cupboards and the fridge.

_Oh shit. I'm having tea at Mum and Dad's and I bloody well nearly forgot._

She wondered whether it was worth inviting anyone there with her for dinner and concluded that no, it wasn't. She would have liked to, given that she hadn't taken anyone over there since Johann (forgetting the fact that when she stayed there for her birthday, her friends came over) but she couldn't think of anyone who she really cared to invite. At least not at this stage.

Fred Weasley had not really entered into her mind during the last week due to her pending lab work that had kept her entire days busy. Now that she had a bit of time and had written that letter, she found herself thinking more about what to do. Did she feel anything for him? She knew that it was always fun to be around him. She had found his practical jokes on the unbearable side of brilliant at one point during their school years but now that he was older, his jokes were done few and far between but executed to near perfection. They were well-thought out and even the person on whom they were played marvelled at the way that they were created.

She couldn't deny his ingenuity, his and George's alike. Yet it was strange that while two brothers, twins mind, had grown up creating the perfect joke to play on someone, one had started to mature more and leave his practical joke days behind. It was George who usually thought up jokes nowadays, not so much Fred, unless he very much wanted to piss Percy off, but who didn't want to do that?

Fred was the more mature one when it was he who used to be the more adventurous of the two, the so-called "evil twin". Perhaps his days were catching up to him, Hermione didn't know but what she did know was that since she saw him that night for her birthday, he hadn't ever quite left her mind. She initially put it down to his lingering kiss on the cheek at the end of the night because no matter who it was, most guys usually had that effect on her.

But that didn't explain the way she felt when she remembered the conversation that she had had with him and hearing the concern in his voice as he thought that her drink was over-vodka'ed.

Okay, so maybe she did think more about him than other guys, but was it just because of how he felt about her?

She thought back to their other encounters at either The Burrow or the nightclubs. She remembered seeing him a couple of times with Angelina. The first was at The Burrow one weekend and they both seemed to be smitten with one another. At the time, she couldn't help but feel happy for the two of them but at the same time, sad because she had just broken up with Sean. Another time was when it was the twins' 21st and she saw that there was slight tension in the air between them. Thinking back now, she realised that she had been concerned about them. She thought that they were going to be together for a lot longer and when they broke up not long afterwards, it hit her more than she thought it would. It meant that two people who were seemingly in love could drift apart. It also meant that Fred was now back up for grabs.

_What the fuck?_

Hermione knew that she had never thought that at the time but she was certainly thinking it now. Fred Weasley, ex-Beater at Hogwarts (who obviously kept working out despite his ban), Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes co-founder, multi-millionaire (not that that was important), not bad-looking either since he cut his hair short again and who also happened to be interested in her, was occupying her thoughts in ways that she didn't think would ever happen with another Weasley.

_I think I should talk to Ginny about this._

Her mind drifted back to his cologne, something that she knew was frightfully expensive although she couldn't put a name to it. She knew it was something by Flamenté, the Spanish Wizard cologne genius but couldn't remember what. Not that details were important, although it smelt fantastic.

She knew that her decision was made on the second topic for the day. It was just a matter of how to tell him. Perhaps she should just think about it a little bit more, at least until after dinner with her parents, which incidentally was meant to start in half an hour.

_Fuck._

She quickly ran to the shower, quite forgetting a towel ("Fuck!") so that she had to make a mad dash across her loungeroom floor in the nude to grab one, finally managing to do a quick once-over afterwards with her wand before heading out the door.

**Comments:**

A bit of swearing, I know but remember, Hermione is 21 now. If anyone has a problem with it, I'll be more than happy to up the rating. Otherwise, I'll leave it be.


End file.
